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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — a city
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. pop — to visit
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. rule — a law
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. rule — government
  11. bound — obliged
  12. pop — music
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — tied together
  15. pass — a permit
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. content — happy
  21. pop — soda
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. chair — a leader

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