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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. cue — for pool
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. present — there
  9. can — to be able to
  10. present — the time now
  11. can — a tin
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. content — the amount
  14. capital — money
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cue — a signal
  17. hand — help
  18. wind — moving air
  19. present — a gift
  20. game — wild animals
  21. content — happy
  22. game — a match
  23. can — a tin
  24. cue — a hint

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