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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  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. capital — a city
  2. kid — to tease
  3. capital — money
  4. kid — child
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. root — the cause
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. scale — size or range
  9. content — the amount
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. scale — in music
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. root — of a word
  16. content — happy
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. root — of a plant
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ruler — a monarch
  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