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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: court · tube · pop · jam · wound · cell · wake · bass

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. pop — soda
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. tube — a container
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bass — the fish
  12. wound — an injury
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wake — a trail
  16. pop — to visit
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bass — low music
  19. cell — in biology
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — of law
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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