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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. saw — the tool
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. saw — the tool
  5. clip — a video
  6. drill — the tool
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. clip — to cut
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. clip — for paper
  11. drill — a practice
  12. band — a music group
  13. drill — army training
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. band — a ring
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. prune — to trim
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. prune — to trim
  22. tube — a container
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. stand — to bear

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