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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. mark — a grade
  4. swing — to play on
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. tube — a container
  7. bark — to shout
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. tube — the underground
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mark — a trace
  16. swing — music
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a city
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. swing — in golf

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