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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. capital — a city
  4. file — a tool
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. track — to keep track
  8. file — a line of people
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. root — the cause
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. pound — a weight
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. root — of a word
  16. rush — hurry
  17. root — of a plant
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. wake — a trail
  20. track — a song
  21. capital — money
  22. track — a path
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. file — a document

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