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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. club — a group
  3. track — a song
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. tube — a container
  6. club — for golf
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. track — a path
  11. wake — a trail
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. track — to keep track
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. branch — a division
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bass — the fish
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. tube — the underground
  24. club — for dancing

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