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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 124 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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. game — a match
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. content — happy
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. scale — size or range
  9. ground — the earth
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — crushed
  14. content — the amount
  15. present — a gift
  16. kick — in football
  17. present — there
  18. march — the month
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. present — the time now
  21. scale — in music
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. game — wild animals

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