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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 120 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: clip · foot · club · tube · prune · ground · board · capital

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. ground — the earth
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. clip — a video
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. ground — a position
  8. capital — money
  9. ground — crushed
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. club — for golf
  12. clip — to cut
  13. club — a group
  14. prune — to trim
  15. board — a committee
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. clip — for paper
  18. club — for dancing
  19. board — to get on
  20. capital — a city
  21. tube — the underground
  22. prune — to trim
  23. foot — a measure
  24. foot — the bottom

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