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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. tear — from crying
  4. scale — size or range
  5. tube — the underground
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a match
  13. tear — from crying
  14. race — the arms race
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. race — humankind
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. tear — to rip
  20. scale — in music
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. race — a contest
  24. tube — a container

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