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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. capital — a city
  3. ground — the earth
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. net — in sport
  6. mate — a friend
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. track — a song
  9. clip — for paper
  10. ground — crushed
  11. track — to keep track
  12. net — after costs
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. clip — a video
  16. capital — money
  17. mate — a partner
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. net — for catching
  20. mate — to breed
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. track — a path
  24. clip — to cut

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