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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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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: capital · mouse · wake · cell · rush · swing · tube · sharp

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. swing — music
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. swing — to play on
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. tube — a container
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. tube — the underground
  14. capital — a city
  15. cell — in biology
  16. rush — hurry
  17. sharp — clever
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. swing — in golf
  21. capital — money
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. sharp — exactly

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