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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: cold · capital · can · club · game · chest · row · squash

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. row — a line
  4. club — for dancing
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. can — to be able to
  7. chest — a box
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. can — a tin
  12. game — a match
  13. capital — money
  14. squash — to crush
  15. game — wild animals
  16. club — for golf
  17. squash — the sport
  18. chest — of your body
  19. capital — a city
  20. can — a tin
  21. club — a group
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. chest — of your 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