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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: tube · patient · net · racket · pop · plane · tear · clip

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. tear — from crying
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. net — for catching
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. tear — from crying
  9. plane — a tool
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. pop — to visit
  12. clip — a video
  13. tear — to rip
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — in sport
  16. clip — for paper
  17. tube — a container
  18. pop — soda
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. pop — music
  22. clip — to cut
  23. plane — an aircraft
  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