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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: hide · capital · squash · court · snap · rash · rest · date

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. court — of law
  3. rest — what's left
  4. capital — a city
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. court — for sport
  7. rest — what's left
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. squash — the sport
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. court — of a king
  18. rash — a series
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. date — the fruit
  21. snap — to click
  22. rest — a break
  23. squash — to crush
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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