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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. can — a tin
  3. kid — to tease
  4. tube — a container
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. dip — to sink
  7. can — to be able to
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. field — farmland
  11. can — a tin
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. capital — money
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. kid — child
  18. capital — a city
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. tube — the underground
  21. staff — employees
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. staff — employees
  24. capital — a big letter

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