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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. mine — for digging
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. can — a tin
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. capital — a city
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. ground — crushed
  9. kid — child
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. can — to be able to
  12. ground — a position
  13. content — happy
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. ground — the earth
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. content — the amount
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. can — a tin
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. kid — to tease

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