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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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. wake — a trail
  4. cue — for pool
  5. hand — in cards
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. key — for a lock
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. tube — a container
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. spring — the season
  12. cue — a hint
  13. mate — a friend
  14. tube — the underground
  15. hand — help
  16. mate — to breed
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. cue — a signal
  19. spring — of water
  20. bass — the fish
  21. key — the most important part
  22. key — in music
  23. mate — a partner
  24. spring — a coil

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