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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. capital — a city
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. content — happy
  6. fall — the season
  7. chest — of your body
  8. tube — a container
  9. content — the amount
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. staff — employees
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. chest — of your body
  16. staff — a stick
  17. staff — employees
  18. bat — the animal
  19. toast — bread
  20. chest — a box
  21. tube — the underground
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — to drop

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