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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 116 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 · tear · pop · bulb · ball · capital · march · dip

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. pop — music
  4. march — music
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. pop — to visit
  8. capital — money
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. bulb — for light
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bulb — for light
  14. march — the month
  15. ball — a great time
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. capital — a city
  18. pop — soda
  19. tear — from crying
  20. dip — to sink
  21. ball — a dance
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. tube — a container
  24. march — the month

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