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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. bass — low music
  3. clip — a video
  4. kid — to tease
  5. tube — the underground
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — of a river
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. current — happening now
  10. present — there
  11. bank — for money
  12. bass — the fish
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. current — electric
  15. present — a gift
  16. tube — a container
  17. present — the time now
  18. kid — child
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. current — of water
  22. clip — to cut
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — rain

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