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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. spring — of water
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. capital — money
  6. roll — a cake
  7. charge — electricity
  8. net — after costs
  9. spring — the season
  10. net — for catching
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. charge — in control
  14. net — in sport
  15. pound — a weight
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. charge — a price
  18. content — happy
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. content — the amount
  21. capital — a city
  22. spring — a coil
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. roll — a list

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