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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. field — for sport
  6. capital — a city
  7. mug — a face
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. content — the amount
  10. field — a subject
  11. chip — to eat
  12. field — farmland
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. mug — a cup
  15. content — happy
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. capital — money
  20. mug — to rob
  21. chip — for betting
  22. mine — for digging
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. mine — belonging to me

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