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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. tube — a container
  3. cell — a phone
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. mine — for digging
  7. tube — the underground
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. roll — a list
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. suit — in cards
  13. capital — a city
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. suit — clothes
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. capital — money
  22. cell — in biology
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. roll — a cake

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