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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 116 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bass — the fish
  3. lean — thin
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. tube — a container
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — to wash
  8. root — of a plant
  9. deal — to handle
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. root — of a word
  12. tube — the underground
  13. bass — low music
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. capital — money
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. game — wild animals
  18. root — the cause
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. lean — to bend
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. game — a match

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