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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 · band · stick · chip · drill · stem · tube · last

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. band — a ring
  9. tube — the underground
  10. chip — to eat
  11. last — to go on
  12. clip — a video
  13. last — final
  14. tube — a container
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. drill — the tool
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. drill — army training
  21. last — finally
  22. clip — for paper
  23. band — a music group
  24. drill — a practice

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