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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. file — a tool
  9. bulb — for light
  10. dip — to sink
  11. file — a line of people
  12. last — final
  13. net — after costs
  14. capital — a city
  15. file — a document
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. net — for catching
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bulb — for light
  21. wound — an injury
  22. last — finally
  23. last — to go on
  24. capital — money

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