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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. lean — to bend
  4. mug — a cup
  5. cold — not warm
  6. tube — the underground
  7. mug — to rob
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. lean — thin
  10. bound — tied together
  11. cold — an illness
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. bound — obliged
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. capital — money
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. prune — to trim
  19. capital — a city
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. prune — to trim
  22. mug — a face
  23. bound — certain
  24. branch — a division

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