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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
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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: squash · chest · drill · content · fan · mug · land · capital

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. land — ground
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. content — the amount
  5. chest — of your body
  6. content — happy
  7. mug — to rob
  8. drill — the tool
  9. land — to come down
  10. capital — money
  11. mug — a face
  12. squash — to crush
  13. land — a country
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. mug — a cup
  16. squash — the sport
  17. drill — a practice
  18. chest — a box
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. drill — army training
  21. chest — of your body
  22. capital — a city
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. fan — a supporter

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