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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.

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: racket · court · capital · pitcher · pop · snap · hand · wave

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. pop — soda
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. capital — a city
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. pop — to visit
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. capital — money
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. court — for sport
  13. hand — help
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. hand — in cards
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. court — of a king
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. court — of law
  23. pop — music
  24. snap — to click

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