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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. content — happy
  3. mate — to breed
  4. plane — a tool
  5. fine — all right
  6. capital — money
  7. land — a country
  8. mate — a friend
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. fork — in a road
  11. land — ground
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — finally
  16. fine — high quality
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. land — to come down
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. mate — a partner
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. plane — an aircraft

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