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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. clip — to cut
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. drill — a practice
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. clip — for paper
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. drill — the tool
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — to get on
  16. drill — army training
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. ball — a great time
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. clip — a video
  22. stem — to come from
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. ball — a dance

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