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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: chip · face · tube · march · wax · capital · bark · cap

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. face — part of the head
  4. tube — a container
  5. chip — to eat
  6. bark — to shout
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. face — to point toward
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. chip — for betting
  13. face — to confront
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. capital — money
  16. cap — a lid
  17. capital — a city
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. march — the month
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wax — to grow
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a hat
  24. wax — for sculpting

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