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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: capital · racket · arm · bear · file · wound · rush · chair

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. file — a tool
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chair — a leader
  10. capital — money
  11. file — a document
  12. capital — a city
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. file — a line of people
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. wound — an injury
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bear — the animal
  24. arm — a part of something

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