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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. net — for catching
  3. pit — in a race
  4. bark — to shout
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. can — a tin
  9. tube — a container
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — after costs
  14. cell — a phone
  15. tube — the underground
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a city
  19. can — to be able to
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. can — a tin
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bark — of a tree

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