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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tube · dip · perch · capital · row · snap

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. dip — to sink
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. row — a line
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. tube — the underground
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. snap — to click
  14. row — to paddle
  15. capital — money
  16. perch — the fish
  17. capital — a city
  18. 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