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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: dip · spell · tube · mine · leaves · nail · clip · bat

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. spell — letters
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. bat — the animal
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — for paper
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. spell — a short time
  11. tube — a container
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. tube — the underground
  18. dip — to sink
  19. spell — magic
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. clip — a video
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — an explosive

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