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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.

Make a worksheet

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 · jam · bore · mine · hide · tube · chest · file

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. file — a line of people
  6. tube — the underground
  7. chest — a box
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. clip — to cut
  11. tube — a container
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. bore — to drill
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. mine — for digging
  18. clip — for paper
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bore — to tire
  24. tube — in a tire

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