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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: capital · ball · rest · pit · fork · straw · content · chest

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. content — happy
  3. ball — a great time
  4. pit — in a race
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. chest — of your body
  8. rest — what's left
  9. content — the amount
  10. pit — a hole
  11. capital — money
  12. rest — what's left
  13. fork — in a road
  14. ball — a dance
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rest — a break
  18. chest — a box
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. capital — a city
  24. fork — a garden 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