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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 second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. capital — money
  3. tear — from crying
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. toast — bread
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. kid — child
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pop — music
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. kid — to tease
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. capital — a city
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pop — soda
  24. pop — to visit

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