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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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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: chest · wave · current · bore · sharp · tube · clip · pitcher

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. current — electric
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bore — to tire
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. bore — to drill
  10. tube — a container
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. sharp — clever
  14. chest — a box
  15. current — happening now
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. chest — of your body
  18. clip — to cut
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. tube — the underground
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. current — of water
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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