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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 120 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: content · pitcher · last · mark · pop · hand · racket · leaves

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. hand — in cards
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. last — to go on
  12. content — the amount
  13. last — final
  14. mark — a trace
  15. content — happy
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pop — music
  21. last — finally
  22. mark — a grade
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. pop — soda

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