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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. bear — the animal
  4. pound — a weight
  5. bore — to tire
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — money
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. bore — to drill
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. hand — help
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. mark — a trace
  19. content — the amount
  20. mark — a grade
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. bear — the animal
  23. hand — in cards
  24. content — happy

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