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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. cold — not warm
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. cold — an illness
  9. tube — a container
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pass — a permit
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. row — a line
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. tube — the underground
  20. row — to paddle
  21. capital — money
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. row — a quarrel

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