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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. content — the amount
  6. mine — for digging
  7. content — happy
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. date — the fruit
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mark — a trace
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — in a tire

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