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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — money
  5. content — happy
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. saw — the tool
  8. ground — the earth
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. shower — to wash
  14. content — the amount
  15. shower — rain
  16. toast — bread
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — crushed
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. saw — the tool

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