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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. capital — money
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. pop — music
  6. suit — in cards
  7. net — for catching
  8. capital — a city
  9. suit — clothes
  10. suit — to fit
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. pop — soda
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. net — after costs
  19. net — in sport
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. squash — the sport
  22. content — happy
  23. pop — to visit
  24. squash — to crush

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