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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 120 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: bear · mark · tube · kick · clip · cap · ground · rash

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. ground — the earth
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a hat
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a grade
  9. bear — the animal
  10. clip — for paper
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. tube — the underground
  13. clip — a video
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. cap — a lid
  17. mark — a trace
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rash — a series
  20. ground — a position
  21. bear — the animal
  22. rash — hasty
  23. ground — crushed
  24. tube — a container

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