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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. foot — a measure
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. race — humankind
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. press — to push
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. press — newspapers
  10. fork — in a road
  11. rash — a series
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. kick — in football
  15. bass — the fish
  16. race — a contest
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. press — a publisher
  19. tube — the underground
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tube — a container
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. rash — hasty

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