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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. capital — money
  5. tube — the underground
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. face — part of the head
  8. pop — music
  9. net — in sport
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pop — soda
  12. net — for catching
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. face — to confront
  15. net — after costs
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. face — to point toward
  18. tube — a container

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