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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. fine — high quality
  3. game — a match
  4. pop — music
  5. key — for a lock
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. race — humankind
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. pop — soda
  10. race — a contest
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. pop — to visit
  13. game — wild animals
  14. capital — a city
  15. content — happy
  16. race — the arms race
  17. squash — the sport
  18. key — the most important part
  19. squash — to crush
  20. fine — all right
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. key — in music
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. content — the amount

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