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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: craft · clip · plane · tube · race · club · net · bound

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. tube — a container
  4. net — after costs
  5. bound — tied together
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. craft — boats
  8. club — for golf
  9. bound — certain
  10. tube — the underground
  11. clip — for paper
  12. race — a contest
  13. club — a group
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. craft — a skill
  16. bound — obliged
  17. race — the arms race
  18. net — for catching
  19. race — humankind
  20. clip — to cut
  21. plane — a tool
  22. clip — a video
  23. net — in sport
  24. club — for dancing

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