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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 cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. suit — clothes
  3. capital — money
  4. suit — in cards
  5. file — a document
  6. bear — the animal
  7. mate — to breed
  8. cue — a hint
  9. cue — for pool
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. kid — child
  13. file — a tool
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bear — the animal
  16. kid — to tease
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. cue — a signal
  20. mate — a friend
  21. content — the amount
  22. suit — to fit
  23. mate — a partner
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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