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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. capital — money
  3. mug — to rob
  4. content — happy
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fine — all right
  8. tube — the underground
  9. content — the amount
  10. shower — to wash
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of a king
  13. tube — a container
  14. swing — music
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — a city
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. swing — to play on
  20. shower — rain
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. mug — a face
  23. mug — a cup
  24. court — of law

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