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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. capital — money
  3. key — the most important part
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — happy
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. perch — the fish
  9. present — there
  10. capital — a city
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. band — a ring
  13. firm — steady
  14. key — in music
  15. row — a line
  16. firm — a company
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. present — a gift
  19. band — a music group
  20. firm — decided
  21. present — the time now
  22. row — to paddle
  23. key — for a lock
  24. band — a rubber band

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