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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: mark · rule · capital · tube · straw · pop · rash · sharp

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. tube — a container
  3. sharp — clever
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. pop — music
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. rule — government
  10. pop — to visit
  11. capital — a city
  12. mark — a trace
  13. tube — the underground
  14. rule — a law
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. rash — a series
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. rash — hasty
  22. mark — a grade
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

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