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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. rash — a series
  11. file — a document
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. content — happy
  14. capital — money
  15. file — a line of people
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. rash — hasty
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. file — a tool
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. content — the amount
  24. capital — a city

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