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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 116 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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — money
  4. file — a document
  5. key — for a lock
  6. prune — to trim
  7. tube — the underground
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. file — a line of people
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. key — in music
  18. key — the most important part
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. file — a tool
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. capital — a city
  23. squash — to crush
  24. racket — a loud noise

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