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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cue — a hint
  5. season — of the year
  6. cue — for pool
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. band — a ring
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. drill — a practice
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. band — a music group
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. drill — the tool
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. cue — a signal
  21. drill — army training
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. season — in sport

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