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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. content — happy
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. spell — a short time
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. pit — in a race
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. spell — magic
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. drill — the tool
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — crushed
  14. spell — letters
  15. capital — money
  16. board — a committee
  17. drill — a practice
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. drill — army training
  20. pit — a hole
  21. content — the amount
  22. capital — a city
  23. board — to get on
  24. ground — the earth

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