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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 124 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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. cap — of ice
  3. fall — to drop
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. clip — a video
  9. cap — a hat
  10. spring — of water
  11. fall — the season
  12. spring — the season
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — to be able to
  15. rush — hurry
  16. fall — to drop
  17. clip — to cut
  18. spring — a coil
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. cap — a lid
  21. clip — for paper
  22. can — a tin
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — in a tire

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