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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: clip · season · kid · fall · trunk · tube · ball · content

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — to cut
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. ball — a great time
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. fall — to drop
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. tube — the underground
  11. kid — to tease
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — happy
  14. kid — child
  15. fall — to drop
  16. ball — a dance
  17. tube — a container
  18. content — the amount
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. season — of the year
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. season — in sport
  24. season — to add flavour

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