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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: squash · straw · field · wind · wave · capital · temple · tube

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. capital — money
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. field — farmland
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. tube — the underground
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. field — a subject
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. tube — a container
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. squash — the sport
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. capital — a city
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. wind — moving air
  23. field — for sport
  24. wind — moving air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com