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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. capital — a city
  3. craft — a skill
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. shower — rain
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. tube — the underground
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. craft — boats
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. mark — a grade
  18. capital — money
  19. tube — a container
  20. mark — a trace
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pitch — completely
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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