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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. drill — the tool
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a line
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — in biology
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. tube — a container
  17. bass — low music
  18. cell — a phone
  19. tear — to rip
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. tube — the underground
  22. drill — a practice
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. drill — army training

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