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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 116 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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. file — a tool
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — a position
  6. tear — from crying
  7. staff — a stick
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. file — a document
  10. tear — to rip
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — of the year
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. staff — employees
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. capital — money
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. tear — from crying
  21. capital — a city
  22. ground — the earth
  23. staff — employees
  24. file — a line of people

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