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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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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: rest · content · kid · racket · fall · pitch · mark · net

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. fall — to drop
  6. kid — to tease
  7. mark — a trace
  8. content — the amount
  9. net — for catching
  10. pitch — completely
  11. net — after costs
  12. kid — child
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. mark — a grade
  18. content — happy
  19. rest — a break
  20. rest — what's left
  21. net — in sport
  22. fall — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  24. rest — what's left

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