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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 120 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: kick · deal · clip · tube · mark · pit · squash · fall

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. fall — the season
  3. mark — a grade
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. tube — the underground
  6. squash — to crush
  7. fall — to drop
  8. mark — a trace
  9. clip — to cut
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. clip — for paper
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. deal — to handle
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — in football
  18. tube — a container
  19. clip — a video
  20. fall — to drop
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. pit — a hole

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