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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. spell — letters
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. hand — help
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. capital — a city
  8. bound — certain
  9. capital — money
  10. spell — magic
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. rest — a break
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. bound — tied together
  16. rest — what's left
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bound — obliged
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. rest — what's left
  23. spell — a short time
  24. racket — a loud noise

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