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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 116 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: tube · bulb · clip · band · ground · lash · drill · present

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. ground — crushed
  3. tube — the underground
  4. drill — army training
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. tube — a container
  9. ground — the earth
  10. present — there
  11. present — a gift
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. drill — a practice
  15. ground — a position
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. band — a ring
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. band — a music group
  21. present — the time now
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — for light
  24. drill — the tool

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