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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. game — a match
  4. swing — music
  5. capital — a city
  6. track — a song
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. track — to keep track
  10. fine — high quality
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. fine — all right
  13. cap — a lid
  14. track — a path
  15. sharp — clever
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — in golf
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. game — wild animals
  21. cap — of ice
  22. capital — money
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. cap — a hat

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