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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. rock — a stone
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. clip — a video
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. capital — money
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. capital — a city
  12. clip — to cut
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. degree — an amount
  16. fork — in a road
  17. degree — from a university
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. rock — music
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. degree — temperature
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. hide — animal skin

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