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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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. club — for dancing
  4. net — for catching
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a city
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. net — in sport
  10. chip — for betting
  11. club — for golf
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. perch — the fish
  18. wind — moving air
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. net — after costs
  22. wind — moving air
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. chip — to eat

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