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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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. bass — the fish
  4. track — a path
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. face — part of the head
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. row — a line
  14. track — to keep track
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. track — a song
  18. bass — low music
  19. face — to confront
  20. tube — a container
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. row — to paddle
  23. face — to point toward
  24. tube — in a tire

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