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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. game — wild animals
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. tube — a container
  9. land — a country
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. degree — temperature
  12. tear — from crying
  13. game — a match
  14. land — ground
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. tube — the underground
  18. degree — an amount
  19. tear — from crying
  20. land — to come down
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. degree — from a university
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. tear — to rip

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