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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: rest · ball · band · cold · charge · racket · perch · capital

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. band — a music group
  4. rest — a break
  5. ball — a great time
  6. cold — an illness
  7. charge — in control
  8. cold — not warm
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a city
  11. band — a ring
  12. ball — a dance
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. perch — the fish
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. charge — electricity
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. charge — a price
  19. rest — what's left
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. rest — what's left
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. capital — a big letter

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