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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. current — happening now
  3. hand — help
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — to breed
  8. content — the amount
  9. mate — a partner
  10. capital — money
  11. hand — in cards
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pound — a weight
  16. content — happy
  17. capital — a city
  18. present — there
  19. pop — soda
  20. current — of water
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. pop — music
  23. present — the time now
  24. current — electric

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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