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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. tube — a container
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. track — to keep track
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. dip — to sink
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. capital — a city
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. band — a ring
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. scale — size or range
  17. track — a path
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. capital — money
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. scale — in music
  24. track — a song

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