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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. chest — of your body
  4. kick — in football
  5. content — happy
  6. ground — crushed
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. scale — size or range
  10. fine — all right
  11. scale — in music
  12. ground — a position
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. chest — of your body
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. fine — high quality
  17. chest — a box
  18. ground — the earth
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. content — the amount
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. content — videos and posts

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