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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — the underground
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. hand — in cards
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. spring — of water
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. saw — the tool
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. hand — help
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. tear — from crying
  21. spring — a coil
  22. clip — for paper
  23. spring — the season
  24. vault — a safe

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