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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — the amount
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. capital — money
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. shower — to wash
  9. suit — clothes
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. suit — to fit
  12. suit — in cards
  13. bulb — for light
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. capital — a city
  21. drill — army training
  22. shower — rain
  23. bulb — for light
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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