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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. tear — from crying
  4. court — for sport
  5. tear — from crying
  6. spring — the season
  7. capital — money
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. roll — a list
  10. court — of law
  11. court — of a king
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. ground — the earth
  16. capital — a city
  17. spring — of water
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. tear — to rip
  20. spring — a coil
  21. ground — crushed
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. ground — a position

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