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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 116 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 · rash · mine · capital · cap · rest · snap · stand

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cap — a hat
  6. squash — to crush
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a lid
  9. mine — for digging
  10. snap — to click
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — what's left
  13. stand — to bear
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rash — hasty
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. squash — the sport
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. capital — a city
  23. rash — a series
  24. capital — money

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