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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. face — to point toward
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. capital — a city
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. game — a match
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bark — to shout
  10. shower — to wash
  11. face — part of the head
  12. capital — money
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. rule — a law
  15. tube — a container
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. game — wild animals
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. face — to confront
  21. shower — rain
  22. rule — government
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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