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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — the amount
  4. court — of law
  5. drill — a practice
  6. court — for sport
  7. capital — a city
  8. clip — to cut
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. content — happy
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — in music
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. drill — army training
  16. court — of a king
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. scale — size or range
  20. drill — the tool
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. clip — a video
  24. game — a match

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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