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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. content — the amount
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fine — high quality
  8. field — for sport
  9. scale — size or range
  10. field — farmland
  11. file — a tool
  12. fall — the season
  13. file — a line of people
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. fine — all right
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. capital — money
  18. content — happy
  19. file — a document
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. field — a subject
  23. fall — to drop
  24. content — videos and posts

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