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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: capital · bass · kid · band · tube · rest · bowl · wave

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. rest — what's left
  3. capital — money
  4. tube — a container
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. kid — child
  8. bass — low music
  9. rest — a break
  10. tube — the underground
  11. band — a ring
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. band — a music group
  17. capital — a city
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bass — the fish
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. band — a rubber band

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