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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 120 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: arm · tube · sharp · ground · squash · ball · kick · bass

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. squash — the sport
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. ground — crushed
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. tube — the underground
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. ball — a dance
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bass — the fish
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. tube — a container
  16. ground — the earth
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. ground — a position
  19. sharp — clever
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. ball — a great time
  22. squash — to crush
  23. kick — in football
  24. ball — a round shape

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