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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: chip · mug · capital · fall · club · coach · tube · tear

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. club — for dancing
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. club — for golf
  7. chip — for betting
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. tube — the underground
  11. tube — a container
  12. mug — to rob
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — money
  15. fall — to drop
  16. mug — a cup
  17. chip — to eat
  18. tear — to rip
  19. fall — to drop
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. club — a group
  23. mug — a face
  24. fall — the season

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