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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: bowl · cap · clip · row · track · capital · ball · tube

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. capital — a city
  4. tube — the underground
  5. row — to paddle
  6. track — to keep track
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. clip — to cut
  9. cap — a lid
  10. clip — a video
  11. row — a line
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. ball — a dance
  14. tube — a container
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. cap — a hat
  17. capital — money
  18. track — a path
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. cap — of ice
  21. track — a song
  22. clip — for paper
  23. ball — a great time
  24. bowl — a dish

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