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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
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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 · last · calf · spring · fork · clip · ball · press

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. clip — to cut
  3. last — final
  4. ball — a dance
  5. press — newspapers
  6. spring — the season
  7. last — finally
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. press — a publisher
  10. press — to push
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. tube — a container
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. last — to go on
  15. clip — a video
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — in a road
  19. clip — for paper
  20. spring — a coil
  21. tube — the underground
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. spring — of water

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