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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: jam · tube · clip · rush · rash · temple · bat · row

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. tube — a container
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. bat — the animal
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. tube — the underground
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. rush — hurry
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. clip — to cut
  18. row — to paddle
  19. clip — a video
  20. rash — a series
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. row — a line
  24. clip — for paper

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