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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. drill — a practice
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. club — for golf
  5. mate — a friend
  6. deal — to handle
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. tube — a container
  10. degree — an amount
  11. drill — army training
  12. club — a group
  13. mate — to breed
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. drill — the tool
  16. tube — the underground
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — temperature
  19. capital — money
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. club — for dancing
  23. mate — a partner
  24. deal — a big deal

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