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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. capital — a city
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. track — to keep track
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. tube — a container
  9. lie — to recline
  10. wax — to grow
  11. track — a path
  12. track — a song
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. bore — to drill
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. capital — money
  22. rock — a stone
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. rock — music

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