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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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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: can · season · bore · leaves · tube · last · clip · deal

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. clip — to cut
  3. season — in sport
  4. bore — to tire
  5. can — to be able to
  6. tube — a container
  7. last — final
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. clip — a video
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. season — of the year
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bore — to drill
  16. last — to go on
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — a tin
  20. last — finally
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. deal — to handle
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. leaves — to go away

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