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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. capital — money
  3. saw — the tool
  4. capital — a city
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. key — for a lock
  7. content — the amount
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. key — the most important part
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. saw — the tool
  15. rash — a series
  16. content — happy
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. game — a match
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. cell — in biology
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. game — wild animals
  23. cell — a phone
  24. key — in music

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