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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. tube — a container
  3. chair — a leader
  4. capital — money
  5. tube — the underground
  6. craft — a skill
  7. present — the time now
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. wind — moving air
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. wind — moving air
  14. capital — a city
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. staff — employees
  17. present — a gift
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. present — there
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. staff — a stick
  23. staff — employees
  24. capital — a big letter

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