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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. band — a ring
  4. ground — the earth
  5. band — a music group
  6. tube — a container
  7. bass — the fish
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cap — a hat
  10. ground — a position
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. bulb — for light
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. cap — of ice
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cap — a lid
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bulb — for light
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. chest — a box
  22. ground — crushed
  23. rush — hurry
  24. tube — the underground

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