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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 116 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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. capital — a city
  3. bound — certain
  4. present — there
  5. capital — money
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. kid — to tease
  8. current — of water
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. current — electric
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. present — a gift
  13. court — of law
  14. current — happening now
  15. court — of a king
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. present — the time now
  18. court — for sport
  19. tube — the underground
  20. bound — obliged
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. kid — child
  23. bound — tied together
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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