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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. track — a song
  3. capital — a city
  4. chest — a box
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. lean — thin
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. capital — money
  11. chest — of your body
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. lean — to bend
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. track — a path
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bat — the animal
  21. track — to keep track
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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