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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 120 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. wound — an injury
  3. squash — to crush
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. capital — a city
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. capital — money
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. squash — the sport
  15. rock — a stone
  16. rash — hasty
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. rock — music
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. racket — for tennis

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