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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 · key · band · tear · wax · chest · capital · racket

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bat — the animal
  3. band — a music group
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chest — a box
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chest — of your body
  11. capital — money
  12. band — a ring
  13. key — for a lock
  14. tear — to rip
  15. capital — a city
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. wax — to grow
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. key — the most important part
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. key — in music
  23. chest — of your body
  24. capital — a big letter

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