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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. row — a line
  3. drill — the tool
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. drill — a practice
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. scale — size or range
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. club — for dancing
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. roll — a cake
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. drill — army training
  16. row — to paddle
  17. scale — in music
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. capital — money
  20. club — for golf
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. club — a group
  23. pitch — completely
  24. roll — a list

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