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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. mate — a partner
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. content — happy
  7. capital — a city
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. mate — a friend
  10. bound — certain
  11. capital — money
  12. content — the amount
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bound — obliged
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. pound — a weight
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bound — tied together
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. hand — help
  23. mate — to breed
  24. stem — to come from

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