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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. capital — a city
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. press — to push
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. perch — the fish
  8. tube — a container
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. capital — money
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. root — of a plant
  18. press — a publisher
  19. tube — the underground
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. press — newspapers
  23. root — the cause
  24. root — of a word

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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