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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. content — happy
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. capital — money
  6. content — the amount
  7. capital — a city
  8. degree — from a university
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. swing — in golf
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. swing — music
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — for digging
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — a tool
  21. degree — temperature
  22. hand — help
  23. degree — an amount
  24. swing — to play on

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