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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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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: clip · can · kid · kick · bank · tube · land · net

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. tube — the underground
  3. land — to come down
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. can — to be able to
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. clip — to cut
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kick — in football
  11. bank — for money
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — for catching
  14. can — a tin
  15. kid — to tease
  16. clip — a video
  17. tube — a container
  18. bank — of a river
  19. land — ground
  20. clip — for paper
  21. net — after costs
  22. kid — child
  23. can — a tin
  24. land — a country

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