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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: wake · swing · face · pit · band · wound · bass · tube

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a music group
  4. wake — a trail
  5. tube — a container
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — in a race
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. tube — the underground
  11. swing — music
  12. face — to confront
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bass — the fish
  15. swing — in golf
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bass — low music
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. band — a ring
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to point toward

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