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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · row · court · last · content · tube · kick · sharp

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — the underground
  4. court — of a king
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. content — happy
  7. tube — a container
  8. capital — a city
  9. row — a line
  10. court — for sport
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. last — final
  13. court — of law
  14. last — to go on
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — clever
  17. capital — money
  18. row — to paddle
  19. last — finally
  20. kick — in football
  21. content — the amount
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. kick — with a leg

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