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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. can — a tin
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. capital — money
  6. clip — a video
  7. cold — not warm
  8. capital — a city
  9. cold — an illness
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. clip — to cut
  14. can — to be able to
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bat — the animal
  20. can — a tin
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bat — for baseball

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