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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bass · face · stem · band · pop · tube · march · wind

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. face — to point toward
  3. pop — music
  4. tube — a container
  5. face — part of the head
  6. tube — the underground
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pop — soda
  11. band — a music group
  12. stem — to come from
  13. wind — moving air
  14. march — the month
  15. band — a ring
  16. bass — the fish
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. pop — to visit
  19. march — music
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. face — to confront
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. march — the month
  24. tube — in a tire

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