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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: club · capital · pitch · fork · lash · squash · game · snap

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. snap — to click
  4. club — for golf
  5. game — wild animals
  6. squash — to crush
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. game — a match
  10. squash — the sport
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. fork — in a road
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. club — a group
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. capital — money
  21. club — for dancing
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. pitch — completely
  24. fork — a garden tool

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