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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: tube · club · pass · capital · jam · row · rule · spring

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. tube — a container
  3. row — a line
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. club — for golf
  7. spring — of water
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. row — to paddle
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. tube — the underground
  12. capital — money
  13. club — a group
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. spring — the season
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. spring — a coil
  21. club — for dancing
  22. pass — a permit
  23. rule — a law
  24. row — a quarrel

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