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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. game — wild animals
  3. lie — to recline
  4. scale — size or range
  5. wind — moving air
  6. race — a contest
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. game — a match
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. pound — a weight
  14. bass — the fish
  15. tube — a container
  16. tube — the underground
  17. wind — moving air
  18. race — the arms race
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. race — humankind
  21. scale — in music
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bass — low music

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