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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: tube · swing · mate · capital · prune · content · present · board

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  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. content — happy
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a city
  4. tube — the underground
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — in golf
  8. board — to get on
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. present — there
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. mate — a friend
  14. board — a committee
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — a gift
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. content — the amount
  20. mate — a partner
  21. tube — a container
  22. swing — music
  23. mate — to breed
  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