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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 116 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. ball — a great time
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mate — to breed
  6. capital — a city
  7. tube — a container
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. tube — the underground
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. race — humankind
  14. field — farmland
  15. race — the arms race
  16. ball — a dance
  17. race — a contest
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. capital — money
  20. mate — a friend
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. field — for sport
  24. field — a subject

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