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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. shower — rain
  3. prune — to trim
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. tube — a container
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. tube — the underground
  10. capital — money
  11. rule — a law
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cap — a hat
  14. pound — a weight
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. capital — a city
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. shower — to wash
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. rule — government
  24. cap — of ice

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