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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: craft · kid · object · capital · roll · sharp · game · tube

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. roll — a cake
  3. craft — boats
  4. kid — child
  5. object — an aim
  6. kid — to tease
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. object — a thing
  12. sharp — clever
  13. craft — a skill
  14. game — wild animals
  15. capital — money
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. roll — a list
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. tube — the underground
  20. object — to protest
  21. tube — a container
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. sharp — with an edge

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