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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. content — the amount
  3. pit — a hole
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. net — after costs
  6. rash — a series
  7. pit — in a race
  8. capital — money
  9. rest — what's left
  10. tear — to rip
  11. net — in sport
  12. tear — from crying
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. net — for catching
  16. tear — from crying
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. rest — a break
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rash — hasty
  22. march — the month
  23. content — happy
  24. rash — on the skin

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