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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. lie — to recline
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. swing — to play on
  10. land — ground
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. land — to come down
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bat — the animal
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. saw — the tool
  21. capital — a city
  22. land — a country
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. capital — money

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