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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 116 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. file — a tool
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cue — a signal
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. bank — for money
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. spell — magic
  9. content — the amount
  10. bank — of a river
  11. content — happy
  12. file — a document
  13. deal — to handle
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. bank — for money
  16. spell — letters
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. capital — money
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. spell — a short time
  22. file — a line of people
  23. cue — for pool
  24. wave — with your hand

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