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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: lean · fan · cap · stem · content · kick · tube · court

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. kick — in football
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a lid
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — for sport
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. lean — thin
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. tube — a container
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. content — happy
  17. court — of law
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. stem — to come from
  20. cap — a hat
  21. lean — to bend
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. content — the amount
  24. kick — with a leg

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