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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  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 — the underground
  2. chip — to eat
  3. clip — to cut
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. clip — for paper
  6. chip — for betting
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. plane — a tool
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. press — a publisher
  12. press — to push
  13. shower — to wash
  14. field — a subject
  15. press — newspapers
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. field — for sport
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. clip — a video
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. field — farmland
  22. vault — a safe
  23. tube — a container
  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