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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tube · content · bound · capital · cell · wax · stand · bay

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. capital — money
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. content — the amount
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. bound — obliged
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. stand — to bear
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. content — happy
  12. tube — a container
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. capital — a city
  18. bound — tied together
  19. tube — the underground
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bound — certain
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in biology

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