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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. cold — not warm
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — a container
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. root — of a word
  8. race — the arms race
  9. root — of a plant
  10. cold — an illness
  11. tube — the underground
  12. capital — a city
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cap — a hat
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. cap — of ice
  20. race — humankind
  21. root — the cause
  22. race — a contest
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. capital — money

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