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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. tube — a container
  6. wind — moving air
  7. content — the amount
  8. sharp — clever
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. tube — the underground
  12. rule — a law
  13. rule — government
  14. wind — moving air
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. pound — a weight
  18. content — happy
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. snap — to click
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. capital — money

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