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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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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: bowl · kid · stick · court · cap · tube · capital · snap

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  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. snap — to speak sharply
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. court — for sport
  4. cap — a hat
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. court — of law
  8. capital — a city
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. court — of a king
  11. snap — to click
  12. kid — to tease
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. capital — money
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cap — a lid
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. tube — a container
  20. tube — the underground
  21. cap — of ice
  22. kid — child
  23. bowl — to roll
  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