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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 · scale · net · capital · tear · cell · deal · game

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. cell — in biology
  3. net — in sport
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. scale — in music
  6. game — a match
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. tear — from crying
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. net — for catching
  11. tube — a container
  12. scale — size or range
  13. game — wild animals
  14. capital — a city
  15. tear — to rip
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. deal — to handle
  19. capital — money
  20. cell — a phone
  21. net — after costs
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. tear — from crying

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