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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. content — happy
  3. rest — a break
  4. fine — all right
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. rest — what's left
  11. content — the amount
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. land — to come down
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — for catching
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. land — a country
  22. rest — what's left
  23. land — ground
  24. fine — high quality

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