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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. land — a country
  4. vault — a safe
  5. land — ground
  6. ball — a great time
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. tear — from crying
  9. capital — a city
  10. scale — in music
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. tear — to rip
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. land — to come down
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. ball — a dance
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — size or range

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