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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. bass — low music
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. pit — a hole
  6. branch — a division
  7. race — a contest
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. march — the month
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. march — music
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. pop — soda
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — a container
  16. march — the month
  17. bass — the fish
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — rain
  20. race — humankind
  21. pop — music
  22. race — the arms race
  23. shower — to wash
  24. pop — to visit

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