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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a city
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. fine — all right
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. chest — a box
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. chest — of your body
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. fine — high quality
  15. tube — a container
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rest — a break
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — what's left
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. clip — to cut

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