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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: cold · pit · pitcher · arm · current · hide · capital · tube

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. capital — money
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pit — in a race
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. tube — the underground
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. cold — not warm
  18. current — electric
  19. pit — a hole
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. current — happening now
  22. capital — a city
  23. current — of water
  24. cold — an illness

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