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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. tear — to rip
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — happy
  8. pop — music
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. bass — low music
  11. pop — soda
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. bass — the fish
  16. tear — from crying
  17. prune — to trim
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. dip — to sink
  21. content — the amount
  22. tear — from crying
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. prune — to trim

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