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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. chair — a leader
  3. last — final
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. suit — to fit
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — child
  12. content — happy
  13. last — to go on
  14. bound — certain
  15. capital — money
  16. bound — obliged
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. bound — tied together
  19. suit — in cards
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. content — the amount
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. last — finally
  24. suit — clothes

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