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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 120 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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. cue — a hint
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. band — a music group
  9. content — happy
  10. shower — to wash
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. band — a ring
  15. cue — for pool
  16. cue — a signal
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. stand — to bear
  21. content — the amount
  22. shower — rain
  23. capital — a city
  24. hide — to keep secret

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