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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 have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. game — a match
  3. foot — a measure
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. tube — a container
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. race — the arms race
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. season — of the year
  10. race — a contest
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. tube — the underground
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. race — humankind
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. shower — rain
  18. game — wild animals
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a city
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. season — in sport
  23. shower — to wash
  24. foot — the bottom

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