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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. last — final
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. staff — a stick
  11. last — to go on
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. capital — money
  15. staff — employees
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cell — in biology
  19. saw — the tool
  20. last — finally
  21. staff — employees
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cell — a phone
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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