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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. march — music
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. can — to be able to
  7. can — a tin
  8. capital — a city
  9. can — a tin
  10. march — the month
  11. capital — money
  12. cue — a signal
  13. shower — to wash
  14. cue — for pool
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a line of people
  17. cue — a hint
  18. shower — rain
  19. file — a tool
  20. fall — the season
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. march — the month

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