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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. present — a gift
  6. bulb — for light
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. date — the fruit
  9. bulb — for light
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — a container
  12. track — to keep track
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. present — the time now
  18. capital — money
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. present — there
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. tube — the underground
  23. track — a path
  24. track — a song

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