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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. net — for catching
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. bulb — for light
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pitch — completely
  8. net — after costs
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. net — in sport
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. content — happy
  14. wax — to grow
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to tire
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bulb — for light
  23. content — the amount
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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