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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — a video
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. present — a gift
  7. clip — for paper
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. capital — money
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. court — for sport
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. foot — a measure
  15. capital — a city
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. court — of law
  18. can — a tin
  19. court — of a king
  20. can — a tin
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. present — there
  23. present — the time now
  24. can — to be able to

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