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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. rule — a law
  3. capital — a city
  4. scale — in music
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. fine — all right
  7. fine — high quality
  8. rule — government
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — for digging
  11. capital — money
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. ground — a position
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — happy
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. ground — crushed
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. ground — the earth
  24. pass — a permit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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