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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bass — the fish
  5. cue — a hint
  6. cue — a signal
  7. game — a match
  8. shower — rain
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. charge — a price
  11. chest — of your body
  12. game — wild animals
  13. shower — to wash
  14. cue — for pool
  15. charge — in control
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. tube — the underground
  18. chest — of your body
  19. tube — a container
  20. charge — electricity
  21. chest — a box
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. leaves — 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