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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. ground — crushed
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — money
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. club — for dancing
  13. chip — to eat
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. club — for golf
  19. ground — a position
  20. chip — for betting
  21. club — a group
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. saw — the tool

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