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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. net — for catching
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. last — final
  7. capital — money
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. last — finally
  12. snap — to click
  13. march — the month
  14. net — in sport
  15. wax — to grow
  16. march — the month
  17. tube — a container
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. capital — a city
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. last — to go on
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. net — after costs
  24. march — music

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