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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. court — for sport
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. chip — for betting
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. saw — the tool
  11. chip — to eat
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. court — of law
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. game — wild animals
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. game — a match
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. court — of a king
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. fan — a supporter

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