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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — soda
  5. charge — a price
  6. hand — help
  7. capital — money
  8. shower — rain
  9. hand — in cards
  10. track — a song
  11. capital — a city
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. charge — in control
  15. tube — a container
  16. tube — the underground
  17. rock — music
  18. shower — to wash
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. track — to keep track
  21. rock — a stone
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. pop — music
  24. charge — electricity

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