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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. march — the month
  4. hand — in cards
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. content — the amount
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. march — the month
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. march — music
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — happy

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