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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. content — happy
  10. content — the amount
  11. band — a ring
  12. scale — size or range
  13. bear — the animal
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. scale — in music
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. band — a music group
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. capital — a city
  23. wind — moving air
  24. scale — for weighing

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