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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: game · kid · plane · ruler · capital · bowl · stick · racket

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. capital — a city
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. game — a match
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. kid — to tease
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. game — wild animals
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. capital — money
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. plane — a tool
  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