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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — money
  4. content — the amount
  5. object — a thing
  6. degree — from a university
  7. spell — letters
  8. fork — in a road
  9. spell — magic
  10. suit — clothes
  11. suit — in cards
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. object — an aim
  14. object — to protest
  15. spell — a short time
  16. degree — temperature
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. capital — a city
  19. degree — an amount
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. drill — army training
  22. content — happy
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — a practice

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