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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. game — wild animals
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. last — finally
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. wake — a trail
  8. game — a match
  9. can — a tin
  10. board — a committee
  11. can — to be able to
  12. last — to go on
  13. board — to get on
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. capital — a city
  16. content — the amount
  17. capital — money
  18. last — final
  19. can — a tin
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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