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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 116 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. present — there
  3. pop — music
  4. capital — money
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. chip — to eat
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. present — the time now
  11. pop — soda
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. tube — a container
  15. wound — an injury
  16. tube — the underground
  17. wound — an injury
  18. chip — for betting
  19. pop — to visit
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wax — to grow
  22. capital — a city
  23. present — a gift
  24. tube — in a tire

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