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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 120 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. tube — the underground
  3. key — in music
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. perch — the fish
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. key — the most important part
  8. content — happy
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. capital — money
  12. bass — the fish
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. rest — what's left
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. key — for a lock
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. tube — a container
  19. rest — a break
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bass — low music
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. content — the amount
  24. rest — what's left

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