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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. can — a tin
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. capital — money
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. race — a contest
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — happy
  11. bass — low music
  12. can — to be able to
  13. bass — the fish
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. capital — a city
  17. fork — in a road
  18. race — the arms race
  19. race — humankind
  20. can — a tin
  21. chair — a leader
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. chair — to sit on

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