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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. last — final
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. last — to go on
  6. capital — money
  7. bore — to drill
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. content — the amount
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. season — of the year
  15. capital — a city
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. chip — for betting
  18. last — finally
  19. bore — to tire
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mark — a trace
  24. chip — to eat

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