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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. rock — music
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rock — a stone
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. march — the month
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — money
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a line
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. march — music
  23. wound — an injury
  24. march — the month

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