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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: tube · scale · trunk · mouse · clip · bat · net · chip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. scale — in music
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. net — for catching
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. chip — for betting
  11. scale — size or range
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. tube — a container
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. clip — a video
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. chip — to eat
  19. net — after costs
  20. bat — the animal
  21. tube — the underground
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. net — in sport
  24. mouse — the animal

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