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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pop — soda
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. ball — a dance
  5. spell — letters
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. capital — a city
  8. pop — to visit
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. object — to protest
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. spell — a short time
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. kick — in football
  15. ball — a great time
  16. object — a thing
  17. wind — moving air
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. spell — magic
  20. wind — moving air
  21. object — an aim
  22. capital — money
  23. pop — music
  24. racket — for tennis

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