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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 124 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bass — the fish
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — money
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. chip — to eat
  14. cold — not warm
  15. content — the amount
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bound — tied together
  21. chip — for betting
  22. bass — low music
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. content — happy

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