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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. field — a subject
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. capital — a city
  7. field — for sport
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. field — farmland
  10. wax — to grow
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. capital — money
  13. craft — a skill
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — clever
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. bat — the animal
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. vault — a safe
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. craft — boats
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bat — for baseball

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