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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. cap — of ice
  3. club — for dancing
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. cap — a hat
  7. club — a group
  8. net — after costs
  9. tube — the underground
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. clip — a video
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. cue — a signal
  14. club — for golf
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. net — for catching
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cue — a hint
  19. tube — a container
  20. cue — for pool
  21. clip — for paper
  22. net — in sport
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. temple — a place of worship

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