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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. clip — for paper
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bass — low music
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. track — a song
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. track — to keep track
  16. content — the amount
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. content — happy
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bass — the fish
  22. clip — a video
  23. track — a path
  24. lash — to lash out

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