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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. net — in sport
  3. tube — a container
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. capital — a city
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. lean — thin
  11. chest — of your body
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. dip — to sink
  15. saw — the tool
  16. net — for catching
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. net — after costs
  20. lean — to bend
  21. saw — the tool
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. chest — a box
  24. fan — a supporter

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