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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 120 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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. key — the most important part
  6. capital — money
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. capital — a city
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bat — the animal
  12. key — in music
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. lie — to recline
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. hand — help
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. key — for a lock
  22. pound — a weight
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. hand — in cards

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