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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 120 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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. bass — low music
  5. row — a line
  6. land — to come down
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. stock — shares
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pass — a permit
  13. land — a country
  14. bass — the fish
  15. tube — a container
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — to paddle
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. tube — the underground
  20. stock — goods
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. land — ground

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