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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 120 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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. bass — the fish
  3. squash — to crush
  4. tube — a container
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. rock — music
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. shower — to wash
  11. face — part of the head
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. fork — in a road
  14. spring — a coil
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. rock — a stone
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. face — to confront
  20. shower — rain
  21. bass — low music
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. squash — the sport
  24. face — to point toward

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