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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: tube · clip · bulb · pit · bowl · race · spring · coach

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. race — humankind
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — a coil
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. spring — of water
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — a contest
  14. pit — a hole
  15. tube — the underground
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. pit — in a race
  19. bulb — for light
  20. tube — a container
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — a video

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