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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — a city
  4. band — a ring
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. kid — child
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. pop — music
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. band — a music group
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. sharp — clever
  14. rock — a stone
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. prune — to trim
  17. kid — to tease
  18. prune — to trim
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. capital — money
  21. rock — music
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. pop — soda
  24. racket — a loud noise

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