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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 124 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. march — the month
  3. content — happy
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. present — the time now
  6. land — a country
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. present — a gift
  9. fork — in a road
  10. march — the month
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. march — music
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. land — ground
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. pass — a permit
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. present — there
  20. lie — to recline
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. land — to come down
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — money

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