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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 120 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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. march — the month
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — size or range
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. cue — for pool
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. march — the month
  13. cue — a signal
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — a city
  17. march — music
  18. cue — a hint
  19. tube — the underground
  20. pitch — completely
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. capital — money
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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