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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: hide · fork · row · mouse · capital · mine · racket · rash

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. rash — hasty
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. rash — a series
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. fork — in a road
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. row — to paddle
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. row — a line
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. hide — animal skin

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