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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. content — the amount
  3. spring — the season
  4. fine — all right
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — a coil
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. content — happy
  10. fine — high quality
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. perch — the fish
  13. capital — money
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. clip — a video
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. capital — a city

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