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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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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: bark · land · swing · racket · stick · capital · straw · kick

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. swing — to play on
  4. land — a country
  5. swing — in golf
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. capital — a city
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. kick — in football
  10. land — to come down
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. land — ground
  14. capital — money
  15. swing — music
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bark — to shout
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. racket — a loud noise

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