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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. content — happy
  3. ground — crushed
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — the arms race
  9. capital — a city
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. race — humankind
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. rash — hasty
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. ground — a position
  17. snap — to click
  18. rash — a series
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. mark — a grade
  21. content — the amount
  22. ground — the earth
  23. capital — money
  24. mark — a trace

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