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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 116 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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. chair — a leader
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. ground — a position
  6. hand — help
  7. content — the amount
  8. track — to keep track
  9. track — a song
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. track — a path
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. mug — a cup
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. ground — crushed
  17. content — happy
  18. mug — to rob
  19. capital — money
  20. hand — in cards
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. vault — a safe
  23. mug — a face
  24. ground — the earth

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