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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. stand — to bear
  3. file — a document
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. capital — a city
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. capital — money
  13. perch — the fish
  14. hand — in cards
  15. file — a line of people
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. hand — help
  19. file — a tool
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. rest — what's left
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — a break

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