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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 120 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. track — a path
  5. firm — a company
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. lean — thin
  8. track — to keep track
  9. capital — money
  10. land — a country
  11. row — a line
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. drill — the tool
  14. land — to come down
  15. tube — the underground
  16. row — to paddle
  17. drill — army training
  18. lean — to bend
  19. firm — steady
  20. firm — decided
  21. drill — a practice
  22. land — ground
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. tube — a container

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