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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: court · tube · charge · capital · face · straw · stock · rock

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. charge — electricity
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. court — of law
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. face — to confront
  9. tube — the underground
  10. court — of a king
  11. rock — music
  12. face — part of the head
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — goods
  15. capital — money
  16. rock — a stone
  17. capital — a city
  18. charge — a price
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. face — to point toward
  21. charge — in control
  22. court — for sport
  23. stock — shares
  24. straw — dry grass

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