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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. tube — a container
  4. shower — rain
  5. firm — decided
  6. firm — steady
  7. field — farmland
  8. firm — a company
  9. tube — the underground
  10. last — finally
  11. shower — to wash
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bass — the fish
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. field — a subject
  17. last — final
  18. scale — size or range
  19. last — to go on
  20. bass — low music
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. field — for sport
  24. scale — in music

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