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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. clip — a video
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — for paper
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. shower — rain
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. foot — a measure
  18. capital — a city
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — a container
  21. dip — to sink
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bowl — a football final

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