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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: rash · club · row · capital · pitcher · racket · ball · wax

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. ball — a dance
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. rash — hasty
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. club — for golf
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. club — a group
  11. club — for dancing
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. rash — a series
  14. capital — money
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. capital — a city
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a line
  22. wax — to grow
  23. ball — a great time
  24. racket — for tennis

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