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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. cap — of ice
  4. fall — to drop
  5. land — ground
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. tube — a container
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. capital — a city
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. tube — the underground
  13. stem — to come from
  14. fall — to drop
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. cap — a lid
  18. land — to come down
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. fall — the season
  21. land — a country
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. cap — a hat
  24. wave — of the sea

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