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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 120 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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. capital — money
  3. spring — the season
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. spring — a coil
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. present — the time now
  16. bound — tied together
  17. spring — of water
  18. capital — a city
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — a container
  21. bound — certain
  22. present — a gift
  23. bound — obliged
  24. present — there

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