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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bass — low music
  4. drill — army training
  5. tube — a container
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bark — to shout
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. last — to go on
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. drill — the tool
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. last — final
  18. date — the fruit
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. last — finally
  21. drill — a practice
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bark — of a tree

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