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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 120 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. last — to go on
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. last — finally
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. capital — a city
  11. mark — a grade
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. mark — a trace
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. bass — the fish
  17. deal — to handle
  18. bass — low music
  19. content — happy
  20. capital — money
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. pitch — completely
  24. last — final

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