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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. content — happy
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. rock — a stone
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — to breed
  10. present — there
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. present — the time now
  16. rock — music
  17. mate — a friend
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. present — a gift
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. mine — for digging
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. content — the amount
  24. game — wild animals

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