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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 black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  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. bear — the animal
  2. capital — a city
  3. dip — to sink
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. land — to come down
  6. scale — size or range
  7. content — the amount
  8. squash — to crush
  9. scale — in music
  10. capital — money
  11. squash — the sport
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. bear — the animal
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. pound — a weight
  17. land — ground
  18. land — a country
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. content — happy
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. squash — the vegetable
  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