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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. swing — to play on
  3. cap — a lid
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. spell — letters
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. cap — a hat
  8. spell — magic
  9. swing — music
  10. root — the cause
  11. root — of a plant
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. root — of a word
  14. kick — in football
  15. cap — of ice
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wind — moving air
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — money
  20. spell — a short time
  21. swing — in golf
  22. wind — moving air
  23. capital — a city
  24. kick — with a leg

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