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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. staff — employees
  3. rock — a stone
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. present — a gift
  7. bore — to tire
  8. shower — rain
  9. present — there
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. staff — employees
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. capital — a city
  15. bore — to drill
  16. tube — a container
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. capital — money
  19. shower — to wash
  20. tube — the underground
  21. present — the time now
  22. rock — music
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. staff — a stick

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