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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. hand — help
  5. capital — money
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. game — a match
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — the underground
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. game — wild animals
  14. capital — a city
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. hand — in cards
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. tube — a container
  24. toast — bread

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