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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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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 · shower · wound · spell · arm · race · cap · capital

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. capital — a city
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. spell — a short time
  9. squash — the sport
  10. spell — magic
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a lid
  14. race — the arms race
  15. shower — to wash
  16. race — a contest
  17. capital — money
  18. shower — rain
  19. spell — letters
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. race — humankind
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. cap — a hat
  24. arm — part of the body

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