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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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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: kick · capital · drill · racket · game · mark · hand · toast

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. game — a match
  5. capital — a city
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. mark — a grade
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kick — in football
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. toast — bread
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — the tool
  18. hand — help
  19. capital — money
  20. game — wild animals
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. hand — in cards
  24. drill — army training

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