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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. spring — of water
  8. perch — the fish
  9. spring — a coil
  10. toast — bread
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. ball — a dance
  14. tube — the underground
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. kick — in football
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. ball — a great time
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. tube — a container
  22. spring — the season
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. capital — money

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