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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 120 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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. clip — to cut
  4. tube — a container
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. content — the amount
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. bulb — for light
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. bat — the animal
  16. rush — hurry
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. content — happy
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. patient — a sick person

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