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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. cap — a lid
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. rule — a law
  6. net — after costs
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — the season
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. spring — of water
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. cue — for pool
  13. capital — money
  14. cap — of ice
  15. content — happy
  16. cue — a signal
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. cap — a hat
  20. content — the amount
  21. net — for catching
  22. cue — a hint
  23. rule — government
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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