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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. game — wild animals
  4. capital — a city
  5. root — the cause
  6. swing — in golf
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. capital — money
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. swing — music
  14. game — a match
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. wound — an injury
  17. swing — to play on
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. lean — to bend
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. lean — thin
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — of a plant

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