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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kick · tube · pop · bat · bass · fine · spring · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. fine — all right
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bat — the animal
  6. kick — in football
  7. spring — a coil
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — the underground
  12. fine — high quality
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. spring — the season
  18. pop — music
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. chair — a leader
  21. pop — soda
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. spring — of water
  24. bass — low music

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