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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 116 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. track — a song
  4. content — happy
  5. last — to go on
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. last — finally
  8. club — a group
  9. spring — of water
  10. club — for golf
  11. last — final
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. capital — money
  14. bound — certain
  15. capital — a city
  16. bound — obliged
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. spring — a coil
  19. track — to keep track
  20. club — for dancing
  21. spring — the season
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bound — tied together
  24. track — a path

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