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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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. prune — to trim
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bore — to tire
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. prune — to trim
  9. tube — the underground
  10. bore — to drill
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. tube — a container
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. rock — a stone
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. scale — in music
  19. rock — music
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. capital — a city
  23. scale — size or range
  24. capital — money

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