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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. club — a group
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. club — for dancing
  10. tube — the underground
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a ring
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. sharp — clever
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. club — for golf
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. tube — a container

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