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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: squash · hand · game · stand · capital · bound · season · land

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. season — of the year
  4. capital — money
  5. bound — certain
  6. squash — the sport
  7. land — ground
  8. hand — help
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. season — in sport
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. hand — in cards
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. game — a match
  19. bound — obliged
  20. bound — tied together
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. game — wild animals
  23. stand — to bear
  24. land — a country

Multiple-meaning words list

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

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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