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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. ball — a great time
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. rest — what's left
  6. fall — the season
  7. wind — moving air
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bass — the fish
  12. ball — a dance
  13. kid — to tease
  14. tube — a container
  15. wind — moving air
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bass — low music
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. rest — a break
  24. wind — to turn a key

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