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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 120 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: game · mine · squash · safe · bat · dip · board · capital

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. mine — for digging
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. squash — the sport
  9. capital — a city
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. squash — to crush
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. game — wild animals
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. board — to get on
  16. board — a committee
  17. dip — to sink
  18. capital — money
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. capital — a big letter

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