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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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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 · perch · wave · arm · pit · club · clip · wind

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. perch — the fish
  3. tube — the underground
  4. pit — a hole
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. clip — to cut
  9. club — for golf
  10. club — a group
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pit — in a race
  15. club — for dancing
  16. tube — a container
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. wind — moving air
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. wind — moving air
  21. clip — a video
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. wave — of the sea

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