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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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 — money
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. pit — a hole
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. march — the month
  11. pit — in a race
  12. march — music
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. tube — a container
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. tube — the underground
  17. capital — a city
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. fall — the season
  23. march — the month
  24. content — the amount

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