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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. tube — the underground
  3. can — a tin
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. hand — in cards
  6. club — a group
  7. degree — an amount
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. bass — the fish
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. can — to be able to
  12. degree — from a university
  13. club — for golf
  14. file — a tool
  15. degree — temperature
  16. can — a tin
  17. bass — low music
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. file — a document
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. file — a line of people
  22. club — for dancing
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. tube — a container

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