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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 116 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: ruler · present · bay · tube · clip · tear · safe · cold

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. cold — not warm
  3. present — the time now
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. tear — from crying
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. present — a gift
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. cold — an illness
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. clip — a video
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. tube — a container
  19. tear — from crying
  20. present — there
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. tear — to rip
  23. clip — to cut
  24. bay — a horse colour

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