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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. sharp — clever
  3. content — the amount
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. rule — a law
  12. capital — money
  13. spring — a coil
  14. capital — a city
  15. content — happy
  16. rule — government
  17. foot — a measure
  18. spring — of water
  19. ground — a position
  20. ground — the earth
  21. spring — the season
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. content — videos and posts

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