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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. shower — to wash
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. sharp — clever
  7. ball — a dance
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. cap — of ice
  10. cap — a lid
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. wake — a trail
  13. cap — a hat
  14. capital — a city
  15. shower — rain
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. capital — money
  20. tube — a container
  21. tube — the underground
  22. ball — a great time
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. sharp — with an edge

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