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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 116 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. tube — the underground
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. band — a ring
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. spring — a coil
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — music
  11. present — a gift
  12. spring — the season
  13. band — a music group
  14. swing — to play on
  15. capital — a city
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. pound — a weight
  19. capital — money
  20. present — there
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. spring — of water
  24. tube — a container

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