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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 120 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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. tube — a container
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. tube — the underground
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. stock — goods
  10. shower — to wash
  11. last — finally
  12. stand — to bear
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. lean — to bend
  15. last — final
  16. shower — rain
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. band — a ring
  19. band — a music group
  20. stock — shares
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. last — to go on
  24. stock — a soup base

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