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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. content — the amount
  3. face — to confront
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. spell — letters
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. spell — a short time
  9. capital — a city
  10. charge — in control
  11. charge — electricity
  12. charge — a price
  13. content — happy
  14. club — for dancing
  15. face — part of the head
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. spell — magic
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. face — to point toward
  20. club — a group
  21. mine — for digging
  22. capital — money
  23. club — for golf
  24. saw — the tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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