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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 120 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bear — the animal
  3. content — the amount
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. game — a match
  6. current — of water
  7. bear — the animal
  8. capital — money
  9. swing — to play on
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. swing — in golf
  12. mate — a partner
  13. tube — the underground
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. game — wild animals
  16. tube — a container
  17. current — happening now
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. content — happy
  21. current — electric
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mate — a friend
  24. swing — music

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