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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. kid — to tease
  7. capital — a city
  8. squash — to crush
  9. stand — to bear
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. spring — a coil
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bat — the animal
  14. squash — the sport
  15. kid — child
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. capital — money
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. spring — of water
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. mine — an explosive

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