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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. net — in sport
  4. wind — moving air
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. net — after costs
  7. wind — moving air
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. capital — a city
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. court — of a king
  15. stock — goods
  16. net — for catching
  17. capital — money
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. court — of law
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — shares
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. arm — part of the body

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