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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — money
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bear — the animal
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. scale — size or range
  14. charge — a price
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. prune — to trim
  17. charge — electricity
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. charge — in control
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. scale — in music

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