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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: squash · bark · bowl · degree · club · file · clip · tube

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  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. tube — in a tire
  2. file — a line of people
  3. tube — a container
  4. squash — to crush
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — an amount
  7. file — a tool
  8. club — for dancing
  9. bark — to shout
  10. club — for golf
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. club — a group
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. clip — to cut
  18. file — a document
  19. clip — a video
  20. squash — the sport
  21. tube — the underground
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. bark — of a tree
  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