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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 116 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. cap — of ice
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — a container
  5. cap — a hat
  6. mug — a face
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. tube — the underground
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. mug — to rob
  12. ground — the earth
  13. capital — money
  14. mug — a cup
  15. cap — a lid
  16. file — a tool
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. capital — a city
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. ground — a position
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a document
  23. kick — in football
  24. saw — the tool

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