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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. tube — a container
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. last — final
  5. mine — for digging
  6. race — humankind
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. race — a contest
  9. press — to push
  10. press — newspapers
  11. pit — a hole
  12. last — finally
  13. race — the arms race
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — the underground
  16. bass — the fish
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. plane — a tool
  19. last — to go on
  20. press — a publisher
  21. pit — in a race
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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