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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. spell — magic
  4. tube — a container
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. row — a line
  7. content — the amount
  8. capital — money
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. pitch — completely
  11. game — a match
  12. content — happy
  13. spell — a short time
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. present — a gift
  17. tube — the underground
  18. game — wild animals
  19. row — to paddle
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. present — the time now
  22. spell — letters
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. capital — a city

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