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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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. fine — all right
  4. fine — high quality
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — a phone
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. bass — the fish
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. ball — a great time
  14. cell — in biology
  15. ball — a dance
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. band — a music group
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. band — a ring
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — for sport
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tube — a container
  24. field — farmland

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