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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. game — a match
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. kid — to tease
  5. content — the amount
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. fork — in a road
  10. root — of a plant
  11. capital — money
  12. content — happy
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. root — of a word
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. game — wild animals
  18. root — the cause
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. capital — a city
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. kid — child
  24. racket — a loud noise

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