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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. present — there
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. season — of the year
  10. season — in sport
  11. content — happy
  12. row — a line
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. track — a path
  15. row — to paddle
  16. track — a song
  17. content — the amount
  18. present — a gift
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. track — to keep track
  21. sharp — clever
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. present — the time now

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