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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. content — happy
  8. cell — a phone
  9. sharp — clever
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bound — obliged
  12. cell — in biology
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. bound — tied together
  17. branch — a division
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. content — the amount
  22. bound — certain
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. sharp — with an edge

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