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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — a country
  5. bulb — for light
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. chip — for betting
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. land — ground
  10. ball — a great time
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. content — happy
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. bulb — for light
  16. capital — a city
  17. content — the amount
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. ball — a dance
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. chip — to eat
  23. capital — money
  24. bulb — of a plant

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