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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: pound · kid · fork · racket · net · lean · capital · tear

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. kid — child
  3. tear — to rip
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. lean — to bend
  7. kid — to tease
  8. capital — money
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. lean — thin
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fork — in a road
  15. net — in sport
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. capital — a city
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — after costs
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. pound — a weight
  24. tear — from crying

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