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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bore — to tire
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. stock — shares
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. band — a music group
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. band — a ring
  15. content — the amount
  16. capital — a city
  17. bat — the animal
  18. stock — goods
  19. perch — the fish
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. content — happy
  24. date — on the calendar

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