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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: kid · chip · mark · arm · racket · bat · bore · capital

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. chip — for betting
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. mark — a grade
  6. capital — money
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bore — to drill
  9. mark — a trace
  10. bat — the animal
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — child
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. bore — to tire
  15. capital — a city
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. chip — to eat
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. capital — a big letter
  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