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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. present — the time now
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. tube — a container
  9. capital — money
  10. prune — to trim
  11. tube — the underground
  12. shower — to wash
  13. present — there
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — rain
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. prune — to trim
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. present — a gift
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. temple — a place of worship

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