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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. capital — a city
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. capital — money
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — after costs
  8. clip — a video
  9. net — in sport
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — to cut
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. chest — of your body
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. content — happy
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. content — the amount

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