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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 116 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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. prune — to trim
  3. game — wild animals
  4. can — a tin
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. clip — to cut
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. tube — a container
  9. prune — to trim
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. clip — a video
  17. kid — to tease
  18. game — a match
  19. kid — child
  20. bass — the fish
  21. can — to be able to
  22. bass — low music
  23. tube — the underground
  24. clip — for paper

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