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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: clip · racket · tube · bat · stem · wave · chip · march

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. march — the month
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. clip — a video
  9. march — the month
  10. stem — to come from
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. clip — to cut
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. tube — the underground
  15. bat — the animal
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. chip — to eat
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. chip — for betting
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. clip — for paper

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