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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: lean · wave · bear · clip · tube · club · pass · band

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. band — a music group
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. clip — a video
  5. club — for golf
  6. bear — the animal
  7. club — a group
  8. tube — the underground
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. band — a ring
  13. bear — the animal
  14. lean — thin
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pass — a permit
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. lean — to bend
  24. club — for dancing

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