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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · lash · tube · stand · scale · band · shower · bowl

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. tube — a container
  4. clip — to cut
  5. scale — in music
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a ring
  8. shower — to wash
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. scale — size or range
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. clip — a video
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. stand — to bear
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. tube — the underground
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. shower — rain
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bowl — a dish

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