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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. tube — a container
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. field — for sport
  6. capital — a city
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bark — to shout
  9. field — a subject
  10. tube — the underground
  11. face — to confront
  12. current — electric
  13. current — of water
  14. current — happening now
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. face — to point toward
  17. field — farmland
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. capital — money
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. sharp — clever
  24. sharp — exactly

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