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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 116 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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. capital — a city
  4. kid — child
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bark — to shout
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. kid — to tease
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. rash — a series
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. stand — to bear
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. capital — money
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rash — hasty
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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