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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: bat · racket · mate · capital · mouse · roll · chair · present

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. chair — a leader
  3. capital — money
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. mate — to breed
  6. bat — the animal
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. capital — a city
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. mate — a partner
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — a gift
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. present — there
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. roll — a list
  21. roll — a cake
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. mouse — the animal

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