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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. land — a country
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. face — to confront
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. face — to point toward
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. capital — money
  10. content — happy
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. capital — a city
  13. bear — the animal
  14. net — for catching
  15. vault — a safe
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bear — the animal
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. deal — to handle
  20. land — ground
  21. net — after costs
  22. land — to come down
  23. face — part of the head
  24. net — in sport

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