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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. ground — a position
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. march — the month
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bat — the animal
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. content — the amount
  13. march — the month
  14. ground — crushed
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. capital — a city
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. march — music
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. ground — the earth
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. capital — money
  24. content — happy

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