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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. capital — a city
  3. march — the month
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. race — humankind
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. capital — money
  9. race — the arms race
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. race — a contest
  12. toast — bread
  13. march — the month
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. perch — the fish
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — to wash
  22. march — music
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. toast — the most admired

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