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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  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. capital — money
  2. scale — size or range
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. scale — in music
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — a division
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. row — a line
  17. capital — a city
  18. deal — to handle
  19. wake — a trail
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wake — before a funeral
  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