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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. cap — of ice
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — the underground
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. capital — a city
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. fork — in a road
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. saw — the tool
  15. dip — to sink
  16. plane — a tool
  17. cap — a lid
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. tube — a container
  23. cap — a hat
  24. capital — money

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