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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. field — a subject
  3. capital — a city
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. pass — a permit
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. suit — in cards
  10. suit — clothes
  11. hand — in cards
  12. suit — to fit
  13. hand — help
  14. fall — to drop
  15. tube — a container
  16. field — for sport
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. fall — to drop
  19. capital — money
  20. tube — the underground
  21. fall — the season
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. field — farmland
  24. arm — part of the body

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