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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. bat — the animal
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. capital — a city
  6. tube — a container
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. tube — the underground
  9. track — a path
  10. swing — music
  11. track — to keep track
  12. firm — decided
  13. rule — government
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. capital — money
  17. firm — steady
  18. swing — to play on
  19. tear — from crying
  20. track — a song
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. tear — to rip
  23. rule — a law
  24. swing — in golf

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