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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. capital — a city
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. charge — electricity
  5. spell — magic
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. spell — a short time
  8. capital — money
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. root — the cause
  11. root — of a word
  12. content — happy
  13. suit — clothes
  14. root — of a plant
  15. spell — letters
  16. suit — in cards
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. charge — in control
  19. content — the amount
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a match
  22. suit — to fit
  23. charge — a price
  24. pitch — completely

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