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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. board — a committee
  3. date — the fruit
  4. fine — all right
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. can — a tin
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. season — of the year
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. capital — money
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. board — to get on
  18. snap — to click
  19. fine — high quality
  20. content — the amount
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. content — happy
  23. can — to be able to
  24. capital — a city

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