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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  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. capital — a city
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. capital — money
  5. rash — a series
  6. present — there
  7. scale — size or range
  8. key — in music
  9. content — happy
  10. bass — the fish
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. key — the most important part
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bass — low music
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. present — the time now
  18. key — for a lock
  19. present — a gift
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pound — a weight
  22. scale — in music
  23. rash — hasty
  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