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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. pop — to visit
  5. tube — a container
  6. cell — in biology
  7. file — a tool
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bass — the fish
  11. date — the fruit
  12. file — a document
  13. pop — music
  14. tube — the underground
  15. cell — a phone
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. pop — soda
  21. file — a line of people
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. bass — low music
  24. chair — a leader

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