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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. capital — money
  5. tube — the underground
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. band — a ring
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. dip — to sink
  13. capital — a city
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the sport
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. band — a music group
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. tube — a container
  24. plane — a tool

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