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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. fine — high quality
  4. march — the month
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. spell — letters
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. saw — the tool
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — magic
  15. content — happy
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. content — the amount
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. fine — all right
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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