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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a city
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. court — of a king
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. band — a music group
  11. court — of law
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a ring
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. court — for sport
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

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