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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: season · racket · tube · prune · leaves · bat · current · clip

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. clip — for paper
  3. season — in sport
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. current — electric
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. clip — to cut
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — the animal
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. current — happening now
  14. current — of water
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. clip — a video
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. tube — a container

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