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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 116 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. march — the month
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. tube — a container
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. scale — size or range
  10. squash — the sport
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — of law
  14. squash — to crush
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. march — the month
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — money
  20. tube — the underground
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. march — music
  24. scale — in music

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