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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. rest — a break
  6. rest — what's left
  7. capital — money
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. rest — what's left
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. drill — the tool
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. stand — to bear
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. drill — army training
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. drill — a practice
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. stand — on your feet

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