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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 116 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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. capital — a city
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. stem — to come from
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. march — the month
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. scale — in music
  10. march — the month
  11. content — the amount
  12. ball — a dance
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. scale — size or range
  15. content — happy
  16. march — music
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. ball — a great time
  21. capital — money
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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