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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. capital — a city
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. spell — a short time
  10. tube — a container
  11. capital — money
  12. staff — employees
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. staff — employees
  15. tube — the underground
  16. spell — magic
  17. bat — the animal
  18. staff — a stick
  19. board — to get on
  20. spell — letters
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. board — a committee
  23. wake — a trail
  24. bat — for baseball

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