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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. march — the month
  5. root — of a plant
  6. bass — low music
  7. march — music
  8. root — of a word
  9. tube — a container
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a city
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. swing — music
  14. bass — the fish
  15. root — the cause
  16. swing — to play on
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. march — the month
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. fall — the season
  21. swing — in golf
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — the fruit
  24. tube — the underground

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