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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 116 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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. tear — to rip
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bass — low music
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mine — for digging
  11. snap — to click
  12. tube — the underground
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. tube — a container
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tear — from crying
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. scale — size or range

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