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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: tear · cell · pop · bulb · pitch · shower · clip · tube

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. tear — from crying
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cell — in biology
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. clip — a video
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — rain
  13. pop — music
  14. cell — a phone
  15. pop — soda
  16. bulb — for light
  17. pitch — completely
  18. tube — a container
  19. bulb — for light
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. tear — from crying
  23. clip — for paper
  24. tube — the underground

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