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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: bat · capital · lean · racket · present · pitch · mouse · content

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. capital — a city
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — happy
  6. capital — money
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — the animal
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. present — the time now
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. lean — to bend
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pitch — completely
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. lean — thin
  20. present — there
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. present — a gift
  24. capital — a big letter

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