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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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468
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: leaves · bulb · tube · board · game · clip · mine · pass

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. bulb — for light
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. game — wild animals
  6. pass — a permit
  7. mine — for digging
  8. board — a committee
  9. bulb — for light
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. clip — to cut
  17. board — to get on
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. game — a match
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. clip — for paper
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. tube — a container
  24. clip — a video

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