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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 116 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: spell · tube · pass · clip · pound · mug · pit · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pass — a permit
  7. spell — a short time
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — to cut
  10. tube — the underground
  11. cold — not warm
  12. mug — a cup
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. mug — to rob
  15. clip — for paper
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. spell — magic
  18. mug — a face
  19. pound — a weight
  20. spell — letters
  21. tube — a container
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. tube — in a tire

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