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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: rule · capital · racket · toast · sharp · wind · court · lash

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. court — of law
  4. court — for sport
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — clever
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. capital — money
  11. rule — a law
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. rule — government
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. wind — moving air
  18. capital — a city
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. wind — moving air
  23. court — of a king
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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