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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: hand · pitcher · tear · ground · capital · firm · date · racket

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. date — the fruit
  3. firm — steady
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. tear — to rip
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. hand — in cards
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. ground — crushed
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. ground — the earth
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. capital — money
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. firm — a company
  18. capital — a city
  19. hand — help
  20. ground — a position
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. tear — from crying
  23. firm — decided
  24. racket — for tennis

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