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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. object — to protest
  3. band — a ring
  4. object — a thing
  5. capital — a city
  6. chest — of your body
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. capital — money
  9. kid — to tease
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. suit — to fit
  14. tube — a container
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. kid — child
  17. suit — in cards
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. suit — clothes
  20. chair — a leader
  21. chest — a box
  22. band — a music group
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. object — an aim

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