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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. content — happy
  4. bore — to drill
  5. fine — all right
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. staff — employees
  8. cell — in biology
  9. roll — a cake
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. roll — a list
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bound — certain
  14. staff — a stick
  15. capital — money
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. bore — to tire
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. content — the amount
  20. staff — employees
  21. cell — a phone
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bound — obliged
  24. capital — a city

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