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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bank — of a river
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. content — the amount
  14. march — the month
  15. bank — for money
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bass — low music
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. tube — a container
  20. content — happy
  21. bank — for money
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. tube — in a tire

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