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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 120 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: ruler · tube · face · court · snap · patient · capital · wind

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. face — to point toward
  5. capital — money
  6. face — part of the head
  7. court — for sport
  8. capital — a city
  9. court — of a king
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. wind — moving air
  12. face — to confront
  13. court — of law
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. tube — a container
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. snap — to click
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. wind — moving air
  24. tube — the underground

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