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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. capital — a city
  6. tear — from crying
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. ground — the earth
  10. rule — government
  11. tear — from crying
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — happy
  15. ground — crushed
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. stock — goods
  18. rule — a law
  19. ground — a position
  20. stock — shares
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. capital — money
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. tear — to rip

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