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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. key — for a lock
  3. bass — low music
  4. cell — in biology
  5. bass — the fish
  6. fall — to drop
  7. craft — boats
  8. tube — a container
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cell — a phone
  11. key — in music
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. key — the most important part
  16. march — music
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — size or range
  19. fall — the season
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. craft — a skill
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  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