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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: bulb · game · tube · fine · capital · rash · racket · rule

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. capital — a city
  3. fine — all right
  4. game — a match
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. bulb — for light
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. tube — a container
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. capital — money
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. rash — hasty
  18. bulb — for light
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. rule — government
  21. rule — a law
  22. tube — the underground
  23. rash — a series
  24. game — wild animals

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