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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. cold — not warm
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. capital — money
  6. board — to get on
  7. bound — obliged
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. ball — a great time
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bound — tied together
  12. tube — the underground
  13. ball — a dance
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. capital — a city
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — to point toward
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bound — certain
  20. face — part of the head
  21. board — a committee
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. tube — a container

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