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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 · key · pound · cell · plane · hide · tube · scale

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. tube — the underground
  4. key — the most important part
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. pound — a weight
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. key — for a lock
  12. tube — a container
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — money
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. key — in music
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. scale — size or range
  22. cell — in biology
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. plane — a tool

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