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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 116 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — money
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — in sport
  7. row — a line
  8. net — after costs
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. row — to paddle
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. march — music
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. fine — all right
  18. mine — for digging
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. safe — out of danger

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