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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. present — a gift
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. saw — the tool
  6. hand — in cards
  7. present — the time now
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. tube — a container
  12. hand — help
  13. saw — the tool
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. bass — the fish
  17. spring — of water
  18. tube — the underground
  19. present — there
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. spring — a coil
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. spring — the season

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