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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. swing — music
  3. sharp — clever
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. stem — to come from
  7. kid — child
  8. bear — the animal
  9. present — the time now
  10. swing — in golf
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. bear — the animal
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. present — there
  15. capital — a city
  16. present — a gift
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. swing — to play on
  22. capital — money
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. bear — to put up with

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