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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. content — the amount
  3. suit — in cards
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. press — a publisher
  6. press — to push
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. chip — for betting
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. land — ground
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. suit — clothes
  13. content — happy
  14. chip — to eat
  15. band — a ring
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. capital — a city
  19. band — a music group
  20. land — to come down
  21. press — newspapers
  22. suit — to fit
  23. land — a country
  24. band — a rubber band

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