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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. rock — a stone
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. fall — the season
  7. firm — steady
  8. firm — a company
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. firm — decided
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. fall — to drop
  16. ball — a great time
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. content — happy
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. content — the amount
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. capital — money
  24. rock — 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