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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 120 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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. squash — to crush
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. scale — in music
  5. land — ground
  6. squash — the sport
  7. scale — size or range
  8. band — a music group
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. land — to come down
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. land — a country
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. band — a ring
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a city
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. straw — a straw man

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