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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. staff — a stick
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. capital — a city
  5. staff — employees
  6. mark — a grade
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cell — in biology
  9. capital — money
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. cell — a phone
  12. mark — a trace
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. tube — the underground
  16. staff — employees
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. tube — a container
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. perch — for a bird

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