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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. tube — a container
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. row — a line
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. row — to paddle
  14. fine — high quality
  15. tube — the underground
  16. clip — to cut
  17. prune — to trim
  18. capital — a city
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. clip — a video
  22. capital — money
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. prune — to trim

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