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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. track — to keep track
  3. degree — an amount
  4. staff — employees
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. tube — the underground
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. degree — from a university
  10. capital — money
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. track — a path
  13. craft — a skill
  14. tube — a container
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. capital — a city
  17. track — a song
  18. snap — to click
  19. staff — employees
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. craft — boats
  22. staff — a stick
  23. degree — temperature
  24. perch — the fish

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