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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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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: roll · wound · mine · content · rock · pop · capital · rest

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. roll — a list
  4. rock — a stone
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mine — for digging
  7. pop — soda
  8. roll — a cake
  9. capital — a city
  10. rest — what's left
  11. capital — money
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rest — a break
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. content — happy
  21. rock — music
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pop — music

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