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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. chair — a leader
  8. tube — a container
  9. ball — a great time
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. tube — the underground
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — the animal
  14. game — wild animals
  15. game — a match
  16. capital — money
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. land — a country
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. land — ground
  22. capital — a city
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. ball — a dance

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