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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. suit — to fit
  3. roll — a cake
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. suit — clothes
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. roll — a list
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bound — obliged
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bass — the fish
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. suit — in cards
  19. tube — a container
  20. bound — certain
  21. bass — low music
  22. bound — tied together
  23. wind — moving air
  24. fork — in a road

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