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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.

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: tube · scale · shower · bass · hide · lean · clip · roll

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. clip — to cut
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to bend
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. clip — for paper
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — low music
  11. scale — in music
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. shower — rain
  15. tube — a container
  16. roll — a list
  17. tube — the underground
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. scale — size or range
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. clip — a video

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