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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  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. jam — a tight spot
  2. face — to point toward
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. tube — a container
  6. face — to confront
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. clip — to cut
  12. capital — a city
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. stem — to come from
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. face — part of the head
  18. clip — a video
  19. foot — a measure
  20. clip — for paper
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. tube — the underground
  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