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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 116 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. scale — size or range
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. last — finally
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. spring — a coil
  8. content — happy
  9. last — to go on
  10. capital — a city
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. content — the amount
  13. stand — to bear
  14. pit — in a race
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. spring — the season
  17. last — final
  18. spring — of water
  19. pit — a hole
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. band — a music group
  24. scale — in music

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