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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. tube — a container
  3. press — a publisher
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. press — newspapers
  7. capital — money
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. tube — the underground
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. track — to keep track
  12. stock — goods
  13. track — a path
  14. press — to push
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — a division
  18. capital — a city
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — clever
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. track — a song

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