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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. mate — a partner
  3. net — for catching
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. content — the amount
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. fine — high quality
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. content — happy
  11. net — after costs
  12. bank — for money
  13. bank — for money
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — a coil
  16. mate — a friend
  17. perch — the fish
  18. spring — the season
  19. bank — of a river
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. fine — all right
  22. net — in sport
  23. capital — money
  24. mate — to breed

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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