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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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Word bank
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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. mate — a partner
  3. fine — all right
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — to breed
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — wild animals
  8. land — to come down
  9. bank — for money
  10. bass — low music
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. bank — for money
  14. march — the month
  15. fine — high quality
  16. game — a match
  17. land — a country
  18. bank — of a river
  19. tube — the underground
  20. march — the month
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. march — music
  23. bass — the fish
  24. land — ground

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