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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. capital — money
  5. mate — a partner
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. cap — of ice
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tube — the underground
  12. pound — a weight
  13. mate — to breed
  14. cap — a lid
  15. tube — a container
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. capital — a city
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. wound — an injury
  22. mate — a friend
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. perch — the fish

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