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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. present — there
  3. capital — money
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. capital — a city
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. swing — to play on
  10. kid — child
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. last — final
  14. swing — in golf
  15. present — a gift
  16. swing — music
  17. present — the time now
  18. kid — to tease
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. last — finally
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. last — to go on

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