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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. capital — a city
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. cell — a phone
  5. game — wild animals
  6. key — in music
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. content — the amount
  9. key — for a lock
  10. race — a contest
  11. capital — money
  12. game — a match
  13. race — humankind
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. race — the arms race
  16. bore — to drill
  17. hand — in cards
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bore — to tire
  23. hand — help
  24. key — the most important part

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