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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: tube · court · fall · cap · track · pitcher · lean · drill

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. cap — a hat
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cap — of ice
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — a practice
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. court — for sport
  14. lean — thin
  15. track — a path
  16. track — to keep track
  17. court — of law
  18. track — a song
  19. lean — to bend
  20. court — of a king
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. cap — a lid
  23. tube — a container
  24. pitcher — a jug

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