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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. content — the amount
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. capital — a city
  7. drill — the tool
  8. rock — a stone
  9. hand — help
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. fine — all right
  12. fine — high quality
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. rock — music
  16. drill — army training
  17. hand — in cards
  18. content — happy
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. capital — money
  21. squash — the sport
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. squash — to crush
  24. drill — a practice

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