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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. kid — child
  3. capital — money
  4. tube — the underground
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. scale — in music
  7. drill — a practice
  8. scale — size or range
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pitch — completely
  11. current — of water
  12. current — electric
  13. club — a group
  14. club — for dancing
  15. drill — army training
  16. kid — to tease
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. club — for golf
  19. drill — the tool
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. capital — a city
  22. current — happening now
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. tube — in a tire

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