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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. land — a country
  4. land — to come down
  5. capital — a city
  6. pitch — completely
  7. deal — to handle
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. wound — an injury
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. drill — a practice
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. land — ground
  17. wound — an injury
  18. drill — the tool
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. drill — army training
  22. capital — money
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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