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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. march — music
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. march — the month
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. march — the month
  7. mug — a cup
  8. tube — the underground
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. spring — the season
  11. tube — a container
  12. capital — a city
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a document
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. mug — a face
  19. spring — of water
  20. file — a tool
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. spring — a coil
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. mug — to rob

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