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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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. ball — a great time
  4. content — happy
  5. lean — to bend
  6. spell — letters
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. content — the amount
  14. spell — a short time
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. fine — high quality
  17. fine — all right
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. ball — a dance
  22. lean — thin
  23. deal — to handle
  24. spell — magic

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