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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. capital — a city
  5. chest — of your body
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. swing — to play on
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. capital — money
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a match
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. swing — music
  16. content — the amount
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. content — happy
  21. swing — in golf
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. deal — to handle
  24. capital — a big letter

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