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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: bulb · rush · clip · press · wind · tube · branch · shower

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. wind — moving air
  4. shower — to wash
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. bulb — for light
  8. shower — rain
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. press — newspapers
  11. branch — a division
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. wind — moving air
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. press — to push
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. clip — to cut
  19. press — a publisher
  20. rush — hurry
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. clip — a video
  23. tube — the underground
  24. bulb — for light

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