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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 120 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. scale — size or range
  3. net — after costs
  4. rest — what's left
  5. content — the amount
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for golf
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. rest — what's left
  10. net — for catching
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. net — in sport
  13. content — happy
  14. capital — a city
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — in music
  18. pop — music
  19. pop — soda
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. club — for dancing
  22. capital — money
  23. rest — a break
  24. pop — to visit

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