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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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468
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: mark · pitcher · racket · capital · swing · ruler · file · sharp

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. swing — to play on
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. capital — a city
  6. mark — a trace
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. file — a tool
  11. sharp — clever
  12. file — a document
  13. mark — a grade
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. capital — money
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. file — a line of people
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — music
  24. mark — to pay attention

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