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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: shower · pit · lean · pound · clip · squash · charge · tube

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. charge — electricity
  3. lean — thin
  4. squash — to crush
  5. tube — a container
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — a video
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. pit — in a race
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. pit — a hole
  13. pound — a weight
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. charge — a price
  17. charge — in control
  18. clip — for paper
  19. squash — the sport
  20. shower — rain
  21. lean — to bend
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. tube — the underground
  24. pound — to hit hard

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