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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 sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. capital — money
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. fine — all right
  5. pass — a permit
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. fine — high quality
  11. mark — a trace
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. content — happy
  15. content — the amount
  16. capital — a city
  17. wind — moving air
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. mark — a grade
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. wind — moving air

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