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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 124 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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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. cap — a hat
  4. band — a ring
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. march — music
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cap — of ice
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. tube — the underground
  12. capital — a city
  13. march — the month
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to point toward
  17. pit — a hole
  18. march — the month
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. face — to confront
  21. wind — moving air
  22. band — a music group
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. wind — moving air

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