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

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. tube — the underground
  4. present — a gift
  5. capital — money
  6. pop — to visit
  7. track — a path
  8. track — to keep track
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. vault — a safe
  11. present — the time now
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. present — there
  14. capital — a city
  15. track — a song
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. pop — music
  18. pop — soda

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