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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. root — the cause
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. capital — a city
  8. staff — a stick
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bound — tied together
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bound — certain
  14. tube — a container
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. root — of a plant
  17. bound — obliged
  18. root — of a word
  19. capital — money
  20. staff — employees
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. staff — employees
  23. tube — the underground
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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