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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: firm · tube · clip · wound · spring · saw

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. firm — a company
  3. clip — to cut
  4. tube — a container
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. clip — for paper
  9. firm — decided
  10. firm — steady
  11. spring — the season
  12. clip — a video
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. spring — of water
  15. saw — the tool
  16. tube — the underground
  17. wound — an injury
  18. saw — the tool

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