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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. ball — a great time
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. mate — a partner
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. tube — a container
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a friend
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. capital — a city
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a document
  17. kick — in football
  18. file — a line of people
  19. ball — a dance
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. tube — the underground
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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