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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: tube · wind · content · rash · bound · cap · court · chip

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. bound — obliged
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chip — to eat
  5. rash — hasty
  6. court — for sport
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. tube — the underground
  11. court — of law
  12. rash — a series
  13. court — of a king
  14. cap — a lid
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bound — tied together
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — happy
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. bound — certain
  22. wind — moving air
  23. tube — a container
  24. chip — for betting

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