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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. tube — a container
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — the underground
  6. land — to come down
  7. game — wild animals
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. land — ground
  11. game — a match
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. stand — to bear
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. land — a country
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. game — a kind of play

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