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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. scale — in music
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. clip — for paper
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — crushed
  10. scale — size or range
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bank — for money
  13. club — for golf
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. clip — a video
  17. capital — money
  18. bank — for money
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. clip — to cut
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for dancing
  23. bank — of a river
  24. capital — a city

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