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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. bat — the animal
  4. scale — size or range
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. mark — a trace
  7. capital — a city
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. wake — a trail
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. bass — the fish
  15. scale — in music
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bass — low music
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. mark — a grade
  23. capital — money
  24. wake — before a funeral

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