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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 120 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: racket · row · bat · rock · fall · pit · kid · capital

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. row — to paddle
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. rock — a stone
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. fall — to drop
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. kid — child
  11. capital — a city
  12. bat — the animal
  13. pit — in a race
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. capital — money
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. fall — the season
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. row — a line
  24. rock — music

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