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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. game — a match
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. chair — a leader
  16. tear — to rip
  17. fine — all right
  18. capital — money
  19. wind — moving air
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. fine — high quality
  24. game — wild animals

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