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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: dip · racket · capital · drill · kid · pound

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. capital — money
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. pound — a weight
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. drill — a practice
  8. kid — to tease
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. drill — army training
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. drill — the tool
  16. kid — child
  17. capital — a city
  18. dip — to sink

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