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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
468
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: tube · branch · bore · bass · racket · roll · rash · file

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bore — to tire
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. tube — the underground
  5. file — a document
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. tube — a container
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. branch — a division
  12. roll — a cake
  13. rash — hasty
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. bore — to drill
  17. rash — a series
  18. bass — low music
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. bass — the fish
  21. roll — a list
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. tube — in a tire

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