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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: wave · race · ground · game · bass · field · bulb · tube

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. game — wild animals
  4. bass — the fish
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. race — the arms race
  9. ground — a position
  10. tube — the underground
  11. ground — crushed
  12. field — for sport
  13. game — a match
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bulb — for light
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. ground — the earth
  18. field — farmland
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. race — humankind
  22. field — a subject
  23. bass — low music
  24. race — a contest

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