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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. tube — the underground
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. kick — in football
  6. last — final
  7. rock — music
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. cap — a hat
  11. last — finally
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. last — to go on
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. capital — money
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. cap — a lid
  20. rock — a stone
  21. cap — of ice
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — a city
  24. court — of law

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