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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: hand · charge · clip · pop · stem · snap · tube · bass

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. pop — soda
  4. clip — for paper
  5. pop — music
  6. charge — electricity
  7. charge — in control
  8. tube — a container
  9. hand — help
  10. bass — the fish
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. snap — to click
  13. stem — to come from
  14. charge — a price
  15. bass — low music
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. clip — to cut
  18. pop — to visit
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. clip — a video
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. hand — in cards
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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