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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: ball · prune · track · game · fall · bass · tube · rush

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. bass — low music
  3. game — wild animals
  4. rush — hurry
  5. fall — to drop
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. game — a match
  10. track — to keep track
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. prune — to trim
  13. ball — a great time
  14. tube — a container
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bass — the fish
  19. ball — a dance
  20. fall — to drop
  21. track — a path
  22. track — a song
  23. tube — the underground
  24. bass — the instrument

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