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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. mate — to breed
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. capital — a city
  5. mate — a friend
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. plane — a tool
  8. mate — a partner
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. craft — a skill
  12. tube — a container
  13. stock — shares
  14. craft — boats
  15. stock — goods
  16. capital — money
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for golf
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. tear — from crying

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