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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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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: chair · land · tube · capital · suit · scale · current · court

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. land — ground
  3. chair — a leader
  4. current — happening now
  5. current — electric
  6. tube — a container
  7. scale — in music
  8. current — of water
  9. capital — a city
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. court — of law
  13. court — for sport
  14. tube — the underground
  15. land — to come down
  16. capital — money
  17. court — of a king
  18. suit — to fit
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. scale — size or range
  21. suit — in cards
  22. suit — clothes
  23. land — a country
  24. capital — a big letter

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