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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: fall · bear · hand · tube · game · bass · board · chair

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bear — the animal
  3. hand — help
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. fall — the season
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. bass — low music
  11. chair — a leader
  12. board — a committee
  13. fall — to drop
  14. board — to get on
  15. hand — in cards
  16. fall — to drop
  17. tube — a container
  18. game — wild animals
  19. game — a match
  20. bass — the fish
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. tube — the underground
  24. board — a flat piece

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