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

Word bank: wave · kick · tube · bat · bank · tear

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. kick — in football
  6. bank — for money
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bank — for money
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. bat — the animal
  12. tear — to rip
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. bank — of a river
  16. tube — the underground
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. kick — with a leg

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