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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. staff — employees
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. tube — the underground
  5. roll — a cake
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. ball — a great time
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a document
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. mine — for digging
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. ball — a dance
  15. roll — a list
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. staff — a stick
  18. staff — employees
  19. file — a tool
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bass — low music
  24. mine — belonging to me

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