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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: net · court · nail · racket · prune · capital · pop · fall

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pop — music
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. net — for catching
  7. fall — to drop
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. capital — a city
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of law
  12. fall — to drop
  13. pop — to visit
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. net — after costs
  16. court — of a king
  17. capital — money
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. prune — to trim
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. net — in sport
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. pop — soda
  24. fall — the season

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