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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. tube — the underground
  3. cell — a phone
  4. mate — a friend
  5. scale — in music
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. scale — size or range
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. chip — for betting
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mate — to breed
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. chip — to eat
  15. stand — to bear
  16. bass — low music
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bark — to shout
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tube — a container
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. bass — the instrument

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