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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. last — final
  4. wound — an injury
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. chair — a leader
  8. mug — a cup
  9. capital — a city
  10. last — finally
  11. tube — a container
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. last — to go on
  14. bear — the animal
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. mug — to rob
  18. bear — the animal
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. mug — a face
  23. capital — money
  24. wound — an injury

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