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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: clip · club · mug · mark · charge · cold · cap · tube

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. mug — a face
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. tube — a container
  5. clip — a video
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — a trace
  8. tube — the underground
  9. mug — a cup
  10. club — for golf
  11. clip — to cut
  12. club — a group
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mug — to rob
  15. charge — in control
  16. cap — of ice
  17. charge — electricity
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. charge — a price
  20. cold — not warm
  21. clip — for paper
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cap — a hat
  24. club — for dancing

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