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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 hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. drill — army training
  3. spell — a short time
  4. capital — money
  5. net — for catching
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. net — after costs
  8. kid — to tease
  9. spell — magic
  10. drill — a practice
  11. capital — a city
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. season — of the year
  16. season — in sport
  17. drill — the tool
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pitch — completely
  21. spell — letters
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. pitch — a sports field

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