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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. cell — in biology
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. capital — money
  7. fall — the season
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. pop — to visit
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. game — a match
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. prune — to trim
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. capital — a city
  19. game — wild animals
  20. pop — music
  21. cell — a phone
  22. content — happy
  23. pop — soda
  24. stand — to bear

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