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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 116 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. content — happy
  3. bear — the animal
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. capital — money
  7. land — to come down
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. lie — to recline
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bear — the animal
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. kid — child
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. land — ground
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. stand — to bear
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. land — a country
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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