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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 124 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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. wake — a trail
  5. cap — a lid
  6. rule — government
  7. kid — to tease
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. clip — to cut
  11. tube — the underground
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. kid — child
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. toast — bread
  17. clip — a video
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. stock — goods
  20. rule — a law
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a hat
  24. tube — a container

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