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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: mark · capital · degree · mug · row · clip · tube · nail

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. clip — to cut
  3. tube — the underground
  4. capital — money
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. clip — a video
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. clip — for paper
  9. mug — a face
  10. mug — to rob
  11. degree — from a university
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — an amount
  16. tube — a container
  17. mug — a cup
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. capital — a city
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — to paddle
  22. mark — a trace
  23. row — a line
  24. mark — a grade

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