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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 120 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 thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — the underground
  4. snap — to click
  5. clip — a video
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. clip — to cut
  9. land — a country
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. land — ground
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. band — a music group
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. land — to come down
  16. staff — a stick
  17. clip — for paper
  18. band — a ring
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. degree — from a university
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — employees
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — temperature

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