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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. field — for sport
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. field — a subject
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. field — farmland
  12. capital — a city
  13. pound — a weight
  14. capital — money
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. chip — for betting
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. chip — to eat
  21. present — a gift
  22. date — the fruit
  23. present — the time now
  24. present — there

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