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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. staff — employees
  3. capital — money
  4. shower — to wash
  5. staff — a stick
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. band — a ring
  10. staff — employees
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. shower — rain
  14. content — happy
  15. capital — a city
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. rock — a stone
  19. band — a music group
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. rock — music

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