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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. capital — a city
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. current — happening now
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. court — of a king
  9. capital — money
  10. court — of law
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. court — for sport
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. fork — in a road
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. current — electric
  22. wake — a trail
  23. current — of water
  24. wake — before a funeral

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