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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. present — there
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. march — the month
  6. present — a gift
  7. march — the month
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. chest — of your body
  10. tube — the underground
  11. capital — money
  12. tube — a container
  13. chest — of your body
  14. capital — a city
  15. pitch — completely
  16. present — the time now
  17. march — music
  18. pitch — a sports field

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