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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: game · mark · roll · lie · clip · tube · rush · mine

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — the underground
  5. mine — for digging
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. game — wild animals
  8. mark — a trace
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — to recline
  11. clip — a video
  12. mark — a grade
  13. rush — hurry
  14. clip — for paper
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. roll — a list
  19. roll — a cake
  20. game — a match
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. clip — to cut
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. tube — in a tire

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