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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: straw · tube · bass · cabinet · trunk · cold · race · pitch

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. race — humankind
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. cold — not warm
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. race — the arms race
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. tube — a container
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. race — a contest
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. pitch — completely
  18. bass — the fish
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. tube — the underground
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bass — low music
  24. cold — an illness

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