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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. key — for a lock
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. key — the most important part
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. clip — a video
  10. shower — rain
  11. key — in music
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. tube — a container
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. clip — to cut
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. rush — hurry
  18. bat — the animal
  19. chair — a leader
  20. shower — to wash
  21. tube — the underground
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. racket — for tennis

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