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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. tube — a container
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. craft — boats
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. cold — not warm
  8. track — to keep track
  9. rock — a stone
  10. craft — a skill
  11. track — a song
  12. tube — the underground
  13. chip — for betting
  14. bass — the fish
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. track — a path
  17. cold — an illness
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. rock — music
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. chip — to eat
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. craft — a handicraft

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