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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. content — the amount
  6. mate — a partner
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. mate — a friend
  11. cold — an illness
  12. capital — money
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. content — happy
  16. mark — a grade
  17. capital — a city
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mark — a trace

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