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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 · jam · pop · tear · fan · trunk · stock · tube

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. capital — a city
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. tube — the underground
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pop — soda
  13. stock — goods
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. pop — to visit
  17. stock — shares
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. capital — money
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tube — a container
  24. pop — music

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