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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. dip — to sink
  3. track — a path
  4. capital — money
  5. row — a line
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. scale — in music
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. tube — a container
  11. capital — a city
  12. track — to keep track
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. track — a song
  16. row — to paddle
  17. foot — a measure
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. tube — the underground
  24. scale — size or range

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