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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: board · trunk · bass · bat · suit · tube · cold · hide

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. board — to get on
  4. suit — to fit
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. tube — a container
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bass — low music
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. board — a committee
  17. bat — the animal
  18. suit — in cards
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bass — the fish
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. suit — clothes
  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