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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mark — a trace
  5. spell — magic
  6. rule — government
  7. spell — letters
  8. row — to paddle
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. content — the amount
  11. object — an aim
  12. pit — a hole
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — a line
  15. object — a thing
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. object — to protest
  18. spell — a short time
  19. mark — a grade
  20. content — happy
  21. rule — a law
  22. pit — in a race
  23. capital — a city
  24. rule — to rule out

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