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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.

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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: tear · bat · capital · squash · bowl · jam · kick · present

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. capital — money
  3. squash — the sport
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. present — there
  6. squash — to crush
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. capital — a city
  10. tear — from crying
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. kick — in football
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. present — the time now

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