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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
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: kid · bark · pit · fine · can · tube · craft · clip

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. can — a tin
  3. craft — boats
  4. fine — all right
  5. tube — a container
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. can — to be able to
  8. clip — for paper
  9. kid — child
  10. craft — a skill
  11. fine — high quality
  12. bark — to shout
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. pit — in a race
  15. clip — a video
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. can — a tin
  19. tube — the underground
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. kid — to tease
  23. pit — a hole
  24. clip — to cut

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