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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: mouse · stem · tube · roll · drill · mine · fork · capital

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. drill — a practice
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — the tool
  10. roll — a list
  11. fork — in a road
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. stem — to come from
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. mine — for digging
  17. roll — a cake
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a city
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. tube — the underground
  24. mouse — the animal

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