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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: rock · foot · perch · tear · capital · jam · field · racket

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. perch — the fish
  6. field — for sport
  7. tear — from crying
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. tear — to rip
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. rock — music
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. capital — a city
  14. rock — a stone
  15. field — farmland
  16. tear — from crying
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. field — a subject
  23. foot — a measure
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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