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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. tear — from crying
  4. kick — in football
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. ball — a dance
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. tear — from crying
  11. club — for dancing
  12. club — a group
  13. club — for golf
  14. ball — a great time
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — money
  17. tear — to rip
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cap — a hat
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — a container
  24. cap — of ice

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