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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bank — of a river
  3. drill — a practice
  4. shower — to wash
  5. capital — money
  6. bank — for money
  7. capital — a city
  8. bank — for money
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cue — for pool
  12. file — a line of people
  13. cell — in biology
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. drill — the tool
  17. cue — a hint
  18. file — a tool
  19. cell — a phone
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. drill — army training
  22. shower — rain
  23. file — a document
  24. cue — a signal

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