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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 116 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 · kid · row · bass · court · rash · tube · sharp

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. kid — child
  3. court — of a king
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. sharp — clever
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. kid — to tease
  8. rash — a series
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. tube — a container
  12. row — a line
  13. row — to paddle
  14. tube — the underground
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of law
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. wake — a trail
  20. bass — the fish
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bass — low music
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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