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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. cue — a signal
  3. mate — a partner
  4. field — a subject
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cue — for pool
  9. field — for sport
  10. tube — the underground
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mate — to breed
  16. capital — a city
  17. field — farmland
  18. cue — a hint
  19. season — of the year
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. season — in sport
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. capital — money
  24. tube — a container

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