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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. game — wild animals
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — a position
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. game — a match
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. content — the amount
  11. ground — the earth
  12. capital — a city
  13. root — of a word
  14. object — an aim
  15. capital — money
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. object — to protest
  18. object — a thing
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. root — of a plant
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. fall — to drop
  24. root — the cause

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