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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. capital — a city
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. mate — a partner
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. mate — a friend
  8. sharp — clever
  9. roll — a cake
  10. toast — bread
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. mate — to breed
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. roll — a list
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. capital — money
  22. content — the amount
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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