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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.

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: wound · capital · track · pitch · chair · rule · squash · rush

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a path
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. track — a song
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. capital — a city
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. squash — to crush
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. rush — hurry
  12. wound — an injury
  13. squash — the sport
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. rule — government
  16. chair — a leader
  17. rule — a law
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. pitch — completely
  21. wound — an injury
  22. capital — money
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. rule — to rule out

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