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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 second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. tube — the underground
  9. swing — in golf
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. chair — a leader
  12. capital — a city
  13. tube — a container
  14. branch — a division
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. swing — music
  18. swing — to play on
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. toast — bread
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. tube — in a tire

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