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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. branch — a division
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — money
  6. track — a path
  7. fall — to drop
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. tube — a container
  10. capital — a city
  11. file — a tool
  12. can — a tin
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. fall — to drop
  15. can — a tin
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. file — a document
  18. can — to be able to
  19. fall — the season
  20. fine — high quality
  21. file — a line of people
  22. fine — all right
  23. track — to keep track
  24. tube — the underground

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