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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — for digging
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. content — the amount
  6. rock — a stone
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. rock — music
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bass — low music
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. content — happy
  18. bass — the fish
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. capital — a city
  24. content — videos and posts

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