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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 · mine · clip · track · patient · straw · suit · land

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. track — to keep track
  3. mine — for digging
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. clip — to cut
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. clip — a video
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. suit — clothes
  11. clip — for paper
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. suit — to fit
  14. track — a song
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. land — ground
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. track — a path
  19. land — a country
  20. tube — a container
  21. land — to come down
  22. tube — the underground
  23. suit — in cards
  24. mine — belonging to me

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