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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. pop — soda
  3. tube — the underground
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. pop — music
  6. land — to come down
  7. drill — army training
  8. drill — the tool
  9. tube — a container
  10. land — a country
  11. land — ground
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bank — of a river
  14. degree — an amount
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — child
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. pop — to visit
  19. degree — from a university
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — for money
  23. capital — a city
  24. drill — a practice

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