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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. pit — a hole
  3. capital — a city
  4. pit — in a race
  5. face — to point toward
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. rule — a law
  9. content — happy
  10. can — to be able to
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. face — to confront
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. can — a tin
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. rule — government
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. face — part of the head
  23. capital — money
  24. content — the amount

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