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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. root — the cause
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a lid
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. wound — an injury
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. rush — hurry
  11. tube — a container
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. capital — a city
  14. cap — a hat
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. tube — the underground
  18. root — of a word
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. capital — money
  22. root — of a plant
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pound — to hit hard

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