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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: spring · capital · wound · roll · ball · suit · pitch · tube

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. ball — a great time
  3. spring — of water
  4. wound — an injury
  5. capital — money
  6. roll — a cake
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. suit — clothes
  9. spring — the season
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. tube — a container
  12. wound — an injury
  13. suit — to fit
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. tube — the underground
  17. capital — a city
  18. roll — a list
  19. spring — a coil
  20. ball — a dance
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. suit — in cards
  23. pitch — completely
  24. tube — in a tire

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