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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. spell — a short time
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. spell — magic
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — after costs
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. lie — to recline
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. spell — letters
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. root — the cause
  17. capital — money
  18. net — for catching
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — of a word
  21. snap — to click
  22. chest — of your body
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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