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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. cue — a hint
  3. capital — money
  4. tube — a container
  5. wound — an injury
  6. shower — rain
  7. rest — what's left
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — in sport
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. capital — a city
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. wound — an injury
  14. tube — the underground
  15. shower — to wash
  16. rest — what's left
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. cue — a signal
  21. cue — for pool
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. rest — a break
  24. net — after costs

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