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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: club · content · tube · current · cell · court · spring · capital

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. cell — a phone
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — a container
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — happy
  8. court — of law
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. current — happening now
  11. cell — in biology
  12. club — a group
  13. current — electric
  14. capital — a city
  15. content — the amount
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — a coil
  19. club — for dancing
  20. tube — the underground
  21. current — of water
  22. club — for golf
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. capital — money

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