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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. chest — a box
  5. mark — a trace
  6. chest — of your body
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. row — a line
  9. mark — a grade
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. tube — the underground
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — an amount
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. degree — from a university
  17. capital — a city
  18. tube — a container
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. foot — a measure
  22. chest — of your body
  23. capital — money
  24. row — to paddle

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