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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: coach · stem · lean · fine · last · bat · tube · clip

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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. tube — the underground
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. last — to go on
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. last — finally
  9. tube — a container
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. fine — high quality
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. fine — all right
  14. stem — to come from
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. clip — to cut
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. last — final
  21. lean — to bend
  22. clip — a video
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. stem — a stem cell

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