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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. spring — a coil
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. bass — low music
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. spring — the season
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. tube — a container
  16. tube — the underground
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — shares
  19. pound — a weight
  20. bass — the fish
  21. spring — of water
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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