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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: foot · content · bay · wound · capital · land · shower · deal

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. capital — money
  3. foot — a measure
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. land — to come down
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. wound — an injury
  8. land — a country
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — to wash
  19. deal — to handle
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. content — happy
  22. capital — a city
  23. content — the amount
  24. bay — a horse colour

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