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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. lean — to bend
  4. tube — a container
  5. tube — the underground
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. scale — in music
  8. rest — a break
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. lean — thin
  13. scale — size or range
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. row — a line
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bass — the fish
  20. saw — the tool
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. row — to paddle
  23. saw — the tool
  24. rest — what's left

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