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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 120 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: pass · racket · branch · tear · kid · pit · squash · capital

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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. pit — a fruit stone
  4. kid — child
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. tear — from crying
  9. kid — to tease
  10. pit — a hole
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. squash — the sport
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — a division
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. pass — a permit
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. capital — money
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. pit — in a race

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