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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: shower · tube · staff · mouse · track · trunk · bass · game

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. staff — employees
  7. track — a song
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. game — wild animals
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. track — a path
  14. game — a match
  15. track — to keep track
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. shower — rain
  18. staff — a stick
  19. staff — employees
  20. tube — the underground
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bass — the fish
  23. tube — a container
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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