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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. capital — a city
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. stock — goods
  9. land — ground
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. land — to come down
  12. capital — money
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. content — the amount
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. stock — shares
  17. cell — in biology
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. land — a country
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cell — a phone
  24. content — happy

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