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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: kick · court · bat · tube · cap · row · pass · capital

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. kick — in football
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. capital — money
  6. court — of a king
  7. row — to paddle
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. tube — the underground
  11. court — of law
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. capital — a city
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. pass — a permit
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cap — of ice
  20. court — for sport
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cap — a hat
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. row — a line

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