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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 116 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. content — the amount
  3. spring — a coil
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. pit — a hole
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. content — happy
  8. spring — the season
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. ground — crushed
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. capital — money
  16. ground — a position
  17. spring — of water
  18. fine — high quality
  19. ground — the earth
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. capital — a city
  22. pit — in a race
  23. fine — all right
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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