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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 120 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. ground — the earth
  5. content — happy
  6. ground — crushed
  7. mark — a trace
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. ground — a position
  15. pop — to visit
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. pop — music
  21. mark — a grade
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. pop — soda
  24. content — the amount

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