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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the fish
  4. branch — a division
  5. roll — a cake
  6. tube — a container
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. roll — a list
  9. tube — the underground
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. hand — in cards
  13. suit — clothes
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. suit — in cards
  16. suit — to fit
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. pass — a permit
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. shower — rain
  23. hand — help
  24. bass — the instrument

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