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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. board — a committee
  4. capital — money
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — in golf
  10. chest — a box
  11. cap — a hat
  12. capital — a city
  13. tube — the underground
  14. tear — from crying
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. board — to get on
  17. cap — of ice
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. cap — a lid
  22. tube — a container
  23. swing — to play on
  24. chest — of your body

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