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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. tube — a container
  4. squash — the sport
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. cue — a hint
  7. clip — to cut
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. rock — music
  10. tube — the underground
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. rock — a stone
  13. cue — for pool
  14. cue — a signal
  15. drill — army training
  16. clip — for paper
  17. kid — child
  18. drill — the tool
  19. squash — to crush
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. drill — a practice
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. clip — a video
  24. kid — to tease

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