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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 116 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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. fall — to drop
  5. rule — a law
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. fall — to drop
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. ground — the earth
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — a division
  13. capital — money
  14. rule — government
  15. fall — the season
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. ground — a position
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — a trail
  21. capital — a city
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. ground — crushed
  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