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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: capital · kid · lie · track · tube · field · clip · stick

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. clip — for paper
  3. field — a subject
  4. capital — a city
  5. kid — to tease
  6. tube — a container
  7. track — to keep track
  8. clip — to cut
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. clip — a video
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. lie — to recline
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. kid — child
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. track — a song
  19. track — a path
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — money
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. lie — an untruth

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