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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 116 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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  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. capital — a big letter
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — for catching
  5. present — the time now
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. present — a gift
  8. spell — magic
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a city
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. spell — a short time
  14. content — the amount
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to click
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. content — happy
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. spell — letters
  23. present — there
  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