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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — army training
  9. content — the amount
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. deal — to handle
  12. content — happy
  13. drill — a practice
  14. snap — to click
  15. capital — money
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. capital — a city
  18. lean — thin
  19. lean — to bend
  20. present — there
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. present — the time now
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. racket — for tennis

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