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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 have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. tube — a container
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. track — to keep track
  5. spring — of water
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. pitch — completely
  8. rock — a stone
  9. foot — a measure
  10. tube — the underground
  11. shower — to wash
  12. spring — the season
  13. rock — music
  14. spring — a coil
  15. capital — money
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. track — a path
  18. capital — a city
  19. shower — rain
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. track — a song
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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