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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. file — a line of people
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. tube — the underground
  6. file — a tool
  7. bulb — for light
  8. tube — a container
  9. bulb — for light
  10. capital — money
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. lean — thin
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. lean — to bend
  23. capital — a city
  24. file — a document

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