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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · perch · mug · squash · content · capital · land · band

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. tube — the underground
  3. content — the amount
  4. mug — a cup
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. land — a country
  7. capital — a city
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. mug — to rob
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. squash — the sport
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — the fish
  15. land — to come down
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. mug — a face
  18. band — a ring
  19. squash — to crush
  20. tube — a container
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. band — a music group
  23. capital — money
  24. land — ground

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