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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  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. file — a document
  2. roll — a cake
  3. spell — letters
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. toast — bread
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. capital — money
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. roll — a list
  13. spell — a short time
  14. file — a tool
  15. sharp — clever
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. file — a line of people
  18. tube — a container
  19. spell — magic
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. capital — a city
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. tube — the underground
  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