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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. key — in music
  3. fork — in a road
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. key — for a lock
  6. ball — a dance
  7. dip — to sink
  8. key — the most important part
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. ball — a great time
  13. content — happy
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. game — a match
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. content — the amount
  19. capital — a city
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. trunk — of a tree

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