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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fine — all right
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. last — final
  6. capital — money
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. capital — a city
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. content — happy
  12. last — finally
  13. content — the amount
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — in music
  17. last — to go on
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. fine — high quality
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. fan — a supporter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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