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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. file — a line of people
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bass — the fish
  6. craft — boats
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bass — low music
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. file — a document
  14. pitch — completely
  15. file — a tool
  16. land — a country
  17. craft — a skill
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. land — ground
  20. capital — money
  21. land — to come down
  22. capital — a city
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. pitch — a sports field

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