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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · march · rash · date · fan · bat · mouse · capital

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. rash — a series
  6. march — the month
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. tube — a container
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. march — music
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. capital — a city
  15. tube — the underground
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. bat — the animal
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. date — the fruit
  21. capital — money
  22. rash — hasty
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. march — the month

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