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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. rash — a series
  6. track — to keep track
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. spell — magic
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. mine — for digging
  13. track — a path
  14. capital — a city
  15. spell — letters
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. spell — a short time
  19. track — a song
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. rash — hasty
  23. chair — a leader
  24. racket — a loud noise

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