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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. pop — music
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. content — the amount
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. file — a document
  10. capital — a city
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bear — the animal
  13. pop — soda
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. pop — to visit
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. snap — to click
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. content — happy
  20. file — a tool
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. capital — money
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. bear — the animal

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