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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. rest — what's left
  3. capital — a city
  4. degree — an amount
  5. present — the time now
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. swing — to play on
  9. present — a gift
  10. tube — a container
  11. degree — temperature
  12. swing — in golf
  13. chest — of your body
  14. capital — money
  15. tube — the underground
  16. rest — a break
  17. present — there
  18. rest — what's left
  19. chest — of your body
  20. swing — music
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. degree — from a university
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. chest — a box

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