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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. file — a tool
  4. content — the amount
  5. capital — money
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. capital — a city
  8. cue — a hint
  9. foot — a measure
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. cue — a signal
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. file — a document
  19. content — happy
  20. fork — in a road
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. file — a line of people
  24. cue — for pool

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