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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 · fall · content · bat · foot · tube · scale · mate

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. mate — a partner
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — a city
  7. bat — the animal
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. foot — a measure
  10. fall — the season
  11. tube — the underground
  12. capital — money
  13. fall — to drop
  14. tube — a container
  15. content — happy
  16. mate — to breed
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. fall — to drop
  19. scale — size or range
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. scale — in music
  23. content — the amount
  24. tube — in a tire

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