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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: mouse · bat · capital · present · kid · rush · track · board

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. rush — hurry
  4. board — a committee
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. present — a gift
  8. track — to keep track
  9. track — a path
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. kid — to tease
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. capital — a city
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. track — a song
  19. kid — child
  20. capital — money
  21. present — there
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. present — the time now
  24. board — to get on

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