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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
468
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 · game · bulb · capital · stick · root · clip · land

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  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. clip — for paper
  2. land — to come down
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. capital — money
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. clip — a video
  7. tube — a container
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. root — of a word
  10. root — the cause
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. clip — to cut
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. land — ground
  16. bulb — for light
  17. root — of a plant
  18. game — wild animals
  19. capital — a city
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. land — a country
  22. bulb — for light
  23. game — a match
  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