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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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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. pop — to visit
  3. bass — the fish
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. tube — the underground
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — to tease
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. bore — to tire
  14. pop — soda
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. lean — thin
  17. plane — a tool
  18. pop — music
  19. sharp — clever
  20. lean — to bend
  21. bore — to drill
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — a container
  24. plane — in geometry

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