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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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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: bank · bay · pound · field · tube · wound · content · capital

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bank — for money
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. field — a subject
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — happy
  7. field — farmland
  8. capital — a city
  9. tube — the underground
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. tube — a container
  15. content — the amount
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bank — of a river
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bank — for money
  21. pound — a weight
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. capital — money
  24. pound — to hit hard

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