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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: date · game · capital · squash · arm · shower · cap · rock

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  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. date — on the calendar
  2. cap — a hat
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — to wash
  6. cap — a lid
  7. squash — the sport
  8. capital — a city
  9. rock — music
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. capital — money
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. cap — of ice
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a match
  19. rock — a stone
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. squash — to crush
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. date — the fruit
  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