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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: tube · stem · clip · prune · lean · kick · saw · row

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. saw — the tool
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. saw — the tool
  7. clip — for paper
  8. prune — to trim
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. tube — the underground
  12. lean — to bend
  13. prune — to trim
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. tube — a container
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. kick — in football
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. stem — to come from
  21. row — a line
  22. lean — thin
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. row — to paddle

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