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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: trunk · pitcher · drill · lean · court · bass · tube · rock

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. tube — the underground
  3. bass — low music
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. drill — army training
  7. rock — music
  8. court — of a king
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. rock — a stone
  11. lean — thin
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. drill — the tool
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. court — for sport
  17. bass — the fish
  18. drill — a practice
  19. lean — to bend
  20. court — of law
  21. tube — a container
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. trunk — of a tree

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