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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. face — part of the head
  3. rule — a law
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. spell — a short time
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. spell — magic
  9. spell — letters
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. bulb — for light
  15. face — to confront
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. rule — government
  18. wax — to grow
  19. face — to point toward
  20. band — a ring
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. band — a music group
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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