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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 124 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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. rest — a break
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fall — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. root — of a plant
  11. root — of a word
  12. rest — what's left
  13. staff — a stick
  14. file — a line of people
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. tube — a container
  17. capital — money
  18. rest — what's left
  19. tube — the underground
  20. staff — employees
  21. root — the cause
  22. capital — a city
  23. file — a tool
  24. staff — employees

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