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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  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. capital — money
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cell — in biology
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. content — happy
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. cell — a phone
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. capital — a city
  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