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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. content — the amount
  3. rush — hurry
  4. roll — a cake
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. snap — to click
  10. bear — the animal
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — happy
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. roll — a list
  21. capital — money
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bear — the animal
  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