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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. capital — a city
  3. spell — letters
  4. tube — a container
  5. rock — music
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. spell — a short time
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. capital — money
  16. field — farmland
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. last — final
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. last — to go on
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. last — finally
  23. spell — magic
  24. tube — the underground

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