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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. capital — money
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bass — low music
  14. capital — a city
  15. content — the amount
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. degree — an amount
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. content — happy
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a document

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