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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. tear — to rip
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. plane — a tool
  11. tear — from crying
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bass — the fish
  16. ball — a great time
  17. tube — the underground
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. tear — from crying
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. bass — low music
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ball — a round shape

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