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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. clip — a video
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cell — in biology
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. chip — to eat
  8. content — happy
  9. clip — to cut
  10. key — for a lock
  11. chip — for betting
  12. cell — a phone
  13. rock — a stone
  14. perch — the fish
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. clip — for paper
  17. capital — a city
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. content — the amount
  20. key — in music
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. rock — music
  24. key — the most important part

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