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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: firm · tube · mine · capital · content · pit · hand · straw

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. firm — decided
  3. capital — a city
  4. firm — a company
  5. pit — a hole
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. hand — in cards
  8. capital — money
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. tube — the underground
  12. content — the amount
  13. firm — steady
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. tube — a container
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. content — happy
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. pit — in a race
  24. hand — help

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