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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. roll — a cake
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. rest — a break
  5. rest — what's left
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. court — for sport
  8. firm — a company
  9. firm — steady
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. clip — to cut
  12. firm — decided
  13. court — of a king
  14. capital — a city
  15. chair — a leader
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — a video
  19. court — of law
  20. roll — a list
  21. capital — money
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. rest — what's left
  24. chair — a professorship

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