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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: game · tube · squash · clip · pitcher · capital · pass · pound

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. capital — a city
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. capital — money
  7. tube — the underground
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. tube — a container
  10. game — a match
  11. pass — a permit
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. squash — to crush
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. clip — to cut
  16. squash — the sport
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pound — a weight
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. game — wild animals
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. pound — to hit hard

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