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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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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: nail · club · racket · chest · game · dip · rest · capital

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — wild animals
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. chest — of your body
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. game — a match
  8. rest — a break
  9. club — for dancing
  10. chest — of your body
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. chest — a box
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. club — for golf
  20. rest — what's left
  21. capital — a city
  22. club — a group
  23. dip — to sink
  24. rest — what's left

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