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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. band — a ring
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. stock — shares
  10. tube — the underground
  11. rock — music
  12. key — the most important part
  13. pit — in a race
  14. capital — money
  15. band — a music group
  16. key — for a lock
  17. stock — goods
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. pit — a hole
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. tube — a container
  22. rock — a stone
  23. key — in music
  24. tube — in a tire

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