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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: bat · tube · season · bass · mine · squash · key · firm

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. season — of the year
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bass — low music
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. mine — for digging
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — the fish
  11. firm — a company
  12. season — in sport
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. tube — the underground
  16. firm — steady
  17. firm — decided
  18. squash — to crush
  19. bat — the animal
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. key — in music
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. tube — a container
  24. key — for a lock

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