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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: kid · bark · pit · saw · coach · tube · wind · bass

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pit — a hole
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. bark — to shout
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. kid — to tease
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. bass — the fish
  10. wind — moving air
  11. kid — child
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. tube — the underground
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. bass — low music
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. tube — a container
  21. saw — the tool
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bark — 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