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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. tube — the underground
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. capital — money
  6. pound — a weight
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. date — the fruit
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — a city
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — a container
  18. toast — bread
  19. current — happening now
  20. current — electric
  21. wind — moving air
  22. current — of water
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. wind — moving air

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