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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. capital — a city
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bore — to drill
  8. capital — money
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — in a race
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. tube — the underground
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. bore — to tire
  16. game — wild animals
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. tube — a container

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