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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. tube — the underground
  3. drill — army training
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. craft — a skill
  6. pass — a permit
  7. capital — money
  8. game — wild animals
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. drill — a practice
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tube — a container
  17. craft — boats
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. lean — thin
  21. drill — the tool
  22. game — a match
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. lean — to bend

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