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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 116 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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. march — music
  3. bat — the animal
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. capital — money
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. wake — a trail
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. wound — an injury
  15. march — the month
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. tube — a container
  19. tube — the underground
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. march — the month

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