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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  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. tube — a container
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. track — a path
  4. capital — money
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. mark — a trace
  7. pit — a hole
  8. track — to keep track
  9. capital — a city
  10. track — a song
  11. band — a ring
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. pit — in a race
  14. mark — a grade
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. bat — the animal
  20. band — a music group
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. tube — the underground
  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