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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. tube — the underground
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a match
  7. mug — a cup
  8. capital — money
  9. kick — in football
  10. mug — to rob
  11. mug — a face
  12. track — a song
  13. ball — a dance
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. track — a path
  16. spring — the season
  17. track — to keep track
  18. spring — a coil
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. ball — a great time
  21. capital — a city
  22. spring — of water
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. capital — a big letter

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