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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: tube · kid · club · cap · coach · pound · clip · temple

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. kid — child
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. tube — the underground
  6. club — for golf
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for dancing
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. pound — a weight
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. clip — a video
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — for paper
  18. kid — to tease
  19. cap — a hat
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. cap — a lid
  22. tube — a container
  23. cap — of ice
  24. tube — in a tire

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