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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 120 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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. file — a line of people
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. capital — a city
  5. file — a tool
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — a contest
  10. track — a song
  11. race — humankind
  12. game — wild animals
  13. file — a document
  14. capital — money
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. track — to keep track
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. track — a path
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. game — a match
  24. game — a kind of play

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