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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. cold — not warm
  4. kid — to tease
  5. capital — money
  6. march — the month
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. march — the month
  11. capital — a city
  12. march — music
  13. fork — in a road
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. scale — in music
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. kid — child
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. scale — size or range
  21. cold — an illness
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. wave — with your hand

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