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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. pop — soda
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. present — there
  6. land — ground
  7. land — to come down
  8. court — of a king
  9. game — a match
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. game — wild animals
  12. content — happy
  13. court — of law
  14. present — the time now
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. pop — music
  17. present — a gift
  18. court — for sport
  19. content — the amount
  20. land — a country
  21. capital — a city
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. pop — to visit
  24. capital — money

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