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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. capital — a city
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. content — happy
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. court — for sport
  10. rush — hurry
  11. shower — rain
  12. content — the amount
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — of law
  15. capital — money
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. shower — to wash
  22. rule — government
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. rule — a law

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