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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bass — low music
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. tube — the underground
  6. row — a line
  7. tube — a container
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. can — a tin
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bat — the animal
  15. can — a tin
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — to paddle
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. can — to be able to

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