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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: racket · bowl · sharp · tear · hide · rule · land · capital

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. land — a country
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. land — ground
  10. capital — money
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. tear — to rip
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. rule — a law
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. land — to come down
  18. sharp — clever
  19. tear — from crying
  20. rule — government
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. capital — a city

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