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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. court — for sport
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. squash — the sport
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. bass — the fish
  12. saw — the tool
  13. mug — a cup
  14. tube — a container
  15. shower — to wash
  16. squash — to crush
  17. mug — to rob
  18. court — of a king
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. shower — rain
  21. tube — the underground
  22. mug — a face
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. court — of law

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