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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. content — happy
  4. shower — rain
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. staff — employees
  7. ground — the earth
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. face — to confront
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. ground — crushed
  14. capital — a city
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. face — to point toward
  17. ground — a position
  18. season — of the year
  19. shower — to wash
  20. capital — money
  21. staff — a stick
  22. staff — employees
  23. season — in sport
  24. face — part of the head

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