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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 116 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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. rush — hurry
  7. capital — a city
  8. ball — a dance
  9. degree — temperature
  10. last — to go on
  11. ball — a great time
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. degree — an amount
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. clip — to cut
  16. last — finally
  17. clip — a video
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. last — final
  21. degree — from a university
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. clip — for paper
  24. capital — money

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