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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. hand — help
  4. bank — of a river
  5. content — the amount
  6. staff — a stick
  7. season — in sport
  8. hand — in cards
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. content — happy
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. fine — high quality
  14. staff — employees
  15. mine — for digging
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bank — for money
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. fine — all right
  21. bank — for money
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. season — of the year
  24. staff — employees

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