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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: rush · pitcher · ball · patient · clip · track · tube · spring

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. track — a song
  7. tube — a container
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. track — a path
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. ball — a dance
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. clip — a video
  15. rush — hurry
  16. ball — a great time
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. clip — to cut
  21. tube — the underground
  22. track — to keep track
  23. spring — the season
  24. pitcher — a jug

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