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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. swing — to play on
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. shower — to wash
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. tube — the underground
  8. swing — in golf
  9. root — the cause
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. capital — a city
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. tube — a container
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. root — of a plant
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. shower — rain
  21. capital — money
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. swing — music
  24. root — of a word

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