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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — in sport
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. last — finally
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. tube — the underground
  10. capital — money
  11. net — in sport
  12. capital — a city
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — after costs
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. sharp — clever
  18. date — the fruit
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. last — to go on
  23. tube — a container
  24. last — final

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