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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 120 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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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: cap · bulb · tube · vault · kid · clip · mine · mouse

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. cap — of ice
  3. bulb — for light
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. mine — for digging
  8. cap — a hat
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. clip — for paper
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. kid — child
  13. cap — a lid
  14. bulb — for light
  15. tube — a container
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. clip — a video
  18. vault — a safe
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. clip — to cut
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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