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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. tube — the underground
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bass — low music
  5. tube — a container
  6. fine — all right
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. fork — in a road
  9. bulb — for light
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. bass — the fish
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. cold — not warm
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. deal — to handle
  24. fine — high quality

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