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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. clip — for paper
  5. degree — temperature
  6. tube — the underground
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. wax — to grow
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bank — for money
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. bank — for money
  14. cell — a phone
  15. sharp — clever
  16. degree — from a university
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. clip — a video
  19. tube — a container
  20. degree — an amount
  21. deal — to handle
  22. cell — in biology
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. clip — to cut

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