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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 120 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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bore — to tire
  3. wound — an injury
  4. snap — to click
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. wake — a trail
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — happy
  15. capital — money
  16. bore — to drill
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. key — in music
  20. key — the most important part
  21. wound — an injury
  22. perch — the fish
  23. capital — a city
  24. key — for a lock

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