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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. bat — the animal
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. fork — in a road
  7. drill — army training
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. drill — a practice
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. capital — money
  12. content — the amount
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. content — happy
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. drill — the tool
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. roll — a list
  24. roll — a cake

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