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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: arm · tube · spring · clip · kid · roll · cabinet · fan

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. tube — a container
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. kid — to tease
  9. spring — the season
  10. clip — to cut
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. clip — a video
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. clip — for paper
  15. tube — the underground
  16. spring — of water
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — child
  20. spring — a coil
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. roll — a cake
  24. roll — a list

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