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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. ground — a position
  5. foot — a measure
  6. content — happy
  7. capital — a city
  8. rock — a stone
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. charge — a price
  12. track — a song
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. charge — electricity
  16. rock — music
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. track — a path
  19. charge — in control
  20. content — the amount
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — the earth
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. track — to keep track

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