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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. capital — a city
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wind — moving air
  10. capital — money
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. tube — a container
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. tube — the underground
  19. wind — moving air
  20. chair — a leader
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. scale — size or range
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. scale — in music

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