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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 120 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. mark — a trace
  4. capital — money
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. land — to come down
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. land — ground
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. mark — a grade
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. land — a country
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. capital — a city
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. chair — a leader
  21. bear — the animal
  22. tube — a container
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bear — the animal

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