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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. foot — a measure
  4. game — wild animals
  5. pass — a permit
  6. tube — the underground
  7. march — music
  8. net — for catching
  9. tube — a container
  10. capital — money
  11. net — in sport
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. march — the month
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. march — the month
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. rock — music
  21. net — after costs
  22. game — a match
  23. rock — a stone
  24. game — a kind of play

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