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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 120 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: clip · ruler · pop · tube · bay · lie · present · rash

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. present — a gift
  9. pop — soda
  10. clip — to cut
  11. lie — to recline
  12. clip — for paper
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. pop — to visit
  15. rash — hasty
  16. tube — a container
  17. present — there
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. clip — a video
  20. present — the time now
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. rash — a series
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. pop — music

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