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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: capital · scale · club · mine · ball · tube · rest · bound

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. capital — a city
  3. bound — certain
  4. tube — a container
  5. scale — size or range
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bound — obliged
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. rest — a break
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. capital — money
  13. ball — a dance
  14. mine — for digging
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. scale — in music
  18. club — for golf
  19. rest — what's left
  20. club — for dancing
  21. ball — a great time
  22. tube — the underground
  23. bound — tied together
  24. mine — belonging to me

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