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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: track · bat · tube · dip · bay · bass · land · rash

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. land — to come down
  3. rash — a series
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. land — a country
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. track — a song
  10. track — to keep track
  11. dip — to sink
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bass — low music
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. land — ground
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. tube — a container
  24. track — a path

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