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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 116 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: nail · bulb · kick · pitch · kid · tube · court · capital

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. capital — a city
  5. bulb — for light
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. court — of a king
  9. tube — a container
  10. court — for sport
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bulb — for light
  16. court — of law
  17. kid — child
  18. tube — the underground
  19. pitch — completely
  20. kid — to tease
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. kick — in football
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

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