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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pound — a weight
  3. swing — in golf
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. capital — money
  6. swing — music
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. snap — to click
  11. swing — to play on
  12. craft — a skill
  13. craft — boats
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. pound — for dogs

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