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

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. capital — a city
  4. board — to get on
  5. stock — shares
  6. tube — a container
  7. board — a committee
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. tube — the underground
  10. row — a line
  11. stock — goods
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. capital — money
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of a car

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