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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. bank — for money
  3. spell — a short time
  4. drill — army training
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. spell — magic
  11. tube — the underground
  12. drill — a practice
  13. spell — letters
  14. perch — the fish
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — a video
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. drill — the tool
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bank — of a river
  22. bank — for money
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. perch — for a bird

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