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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. can — a tin
  3. club — for dancing
  4. pop — music
  5. last — final
  6. can — a tin
  7. pop — soda
  8. roll — a list
  9. club — a group
  10. content — happy
  11. content — the amount
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. club — for golf
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. last — to go on
  18. roll — a cake
  19. last — finally
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. can — to be able to
  22. capital — a city
  23. rash — hasty
  24. pop — to visit

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