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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. march — the month
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — an amount
  11. capital — a city
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. degree — temperature
  14. rest — what's left
  15. march — music
  16. capital — money
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. rash — hasty
  19. wake — a trail
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. rest — what's left
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. rash — a series
  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