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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. clip — for paper
  4. row — to paddle
  5. wake — a trail
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. pound — a weight
  8. club — for dancing
  9. tube — a container
  10. clip — to cut
  11. row — a line
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. clip — a video
  14. club — a group
  15. club — for golf
  16. capital — a city
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. tube — the underground

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