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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rest — a break
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. bulb — for light
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. track — a song
  9. capital — money
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. rash — a series
  12. track — to keep track
  13. capital — a city
  14. bulb — for light
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. track — a path
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. row — to paddle
  22. rest — what's left
  23. tube — the underground
  24. row — a line

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