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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. capital — a city
  4. tube — the underground
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. court — for sport
  9. last — finally
  10. stand — to bear
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — a division
  13. ground — crushed
  14. court — of a king
  15. ground — the earth
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. last — final
  18. court — of law
  19. content — happy
  20. ground — a position
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. capital — money
  23. last — to go on
  24. content — the amount

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