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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: cell · tube · band · field · club · chest · bore · capital

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. cell — in biology
  5. chest — of your body
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a city
  8. tube — the underground
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a ring
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. club — a group
  15. club — for dancing
  16. field — for sport
  17. cell — a phone
  18. tube — a container
  19. field — a subject
  20. bore — to drill
  21. field — farmland
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bore — to tire
  24. club — for golf

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