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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. content — happy
  3. swing — music
  4. capital — a city
  5. wake — a trail
  6. chip — to eat
  7. mug — to rob
  8. spell — letters
  9. capital — money
  10. content — the amount
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — magic
  16. ball — a great time
  17. mug — a cup
  18. swing — in golf
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. mug — a face
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. swing — to play on
  24. chip — for betting

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