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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 116 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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. fall — to drop
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. tube — the underground
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. clip — to cut
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. clip — a video
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. band — a ring
  14. fall — to drop
  15. mine — for digging
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. tube — a container
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. fall — the season
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. clip — for paper

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