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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. clip — for paper
  3. tube — the underground
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. prune — to trim
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fall — to drop
  14. kick — in football
  15. content — the amount
  16. wound — an injury
  17. prune — to trim
  18. clip — to cut
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. content — happy
  23. rush — hurry
  24. clip — a video

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