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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. capital — a city
  5. sharp — clever
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. last — finally
  11. band — a music group
  12. hand — help
  13. row — a line
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. last — final
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — to paddle
  19. last — to go on
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. capital — money
  24. leaves — to go away

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