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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. swing — music
  5. land — to come down
  6. bound — obliged
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. swing — to play on
  9. bound — tied together
  10. land — ground
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — boats
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. chip — to eat
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. chip — for betting
  19. capital — a city
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. bound — certain
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. swing — in golf
  24. land — a country

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