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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. content — happy
  3. capital — a city
  4. date — the fruit
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. band — a music group
  8. fork — in a road
  9. pop — music
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. capital — money
  12. pop — soda
  13. content — the amount
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. pop — to visit
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. band — a ring

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