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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: spring · trunk · race · field · tube · suit · rock · bass

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. suit — in cards
  3. spring — a coil
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bass — the fish
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. suit — to fit
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. spring — of water
  10. race — a contest
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. field — farmland
  14. bass — low music
  15. race — the arms race
  16. spring — the season
  17. rock — music
  18. race — humankind
  19. field — a subject
  20. rock — a stone
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. field — for sport
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. suit — clothes

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