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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: march · arm · season · capital · racket · mark · object · tear

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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. season — of the year
  4. season — in sport
  5. object — an aim
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. march — music
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. tear — from crying
  13. capital — money
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. object — to protest
  16. tear — to rip
  17. march — the month
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. march — the month
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. object — a thing
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mark — a trace
  24. tear — from crying

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