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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. mug — to rob
  3. mug — a cup
  4. chest — of your body
  5. race — humankind
  6. can — a tin
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. race — the arms race
  11. ground — crushed
  12. chest — a box
  13. tube — the underground
  14. race — a contest
  15. tube — a container
  16. can — to be able to
  17. mug — a face
  18. can — a tin
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. ground — a position
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bass — the fish
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. ground — the earth

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