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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 116 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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. tube — a container
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — a phone
  6. wind — moving air
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. can — to be able to
  11. tear — to rip
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. branch — a division
  14. wind — moving air
  15. can — a tin
  16. sharp — clever
  17. cell — in biology
  18. can — a tin
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bass — low music
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. bass — the fish
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. tear — from crying

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