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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. scale — in music
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — a video
  7. net — for catching
  8. tube — a container
  9. net — in sport
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. pitch — completely
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. court — for sport
  15. scale — size or range
  16. court — of law
  17. clip — for paper
  18. court — of a king
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. net — after costs
  24. vault — a safe

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