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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.

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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: capital · date · face · tube · content · key · kid · march

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. content — the amount
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. march — the month
  6. kid — child
  7. key — in music
  8. face — to point toward
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. capital — a city
  11. tube — the underground
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. kid — to tease
  14. face — to confront
  15. tube — a container
  16. date — the fruit
  17. face — part of the head
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. capital — money
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — the most important part
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. content — happy
  24. date — on the calendar

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