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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 120 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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — hasty
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — the season
  7. rash — a series
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. fall — to drop
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — a container
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. deal — to handle
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pitch — completely
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a city
  18. deal — a big deal

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