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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: mate · fine · straw · content · land · capital · mouse · bark

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. mate — a partner
  3. fine — high quality
  4. content — happy
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. land — ground
  9. land — a country
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. bark — to shout
  16. mate — to breed
  17. content — the amount
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. fine — all right
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — a city
  22. land — to come down
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. straw — dry grass

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