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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. clip — a video
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. lean — thin
  6. snap — to click
  7. tube — the underground
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. clip — for paper
  10. lean — to bend
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. stem — to come from
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. clip — to cut
  19. perch — the fish
  20. kick — in football
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. perch — for a bird

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