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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. capital — money
  3. club — for dancing
  4. mate — to breed
  5. season — in sport
  6. club — for golf
  7. club — a group
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. craft — a skill
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. season — of the year
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. craft — boats
  15. capital — a city
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. mate — a friend
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. mate — a partner
  24. craft — a handicraft

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