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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: ground · last · capital · mug · present · squash · rash · rest

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. rest — a break
  3. last — finally
  4. last — final
  5. mug — a face
  6. rest — what's left
  7. present — the time now
  8. squash — to crush
  9. ground — a position
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. mug — a cup
  12. rash — a series
  13. present — there
  14. rest — what's left
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. mug — to rob
  18. present — a gift
  19. squash — the sport
  20. ground — the earth
  21. capital — a city
  22. ground — crushed
  23. rash — hasty
  24. squash — the vegetable

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