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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · kick · hide · spring · charge · clip · rash · shower

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. clip — to cut
  3. tube — a container
  4. charge — in control
  5. rash — a series
  6. shower — to wash
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. tube — the underground
  11. spring — of water
  12. charge — a price
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. clip — for paper
  15. charge — electricity
  16. kick — in football
  17. rash — hasty
  18. spring — the season
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. spring — a coil
  22. clip — a video
  23. shower — rain
  24. hide — to keep secret

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