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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: band · bat · tube · spring · bass · bay · saw · scale

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. tube — the underground
  3. bass — low music
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. bass — the fish
  8. band — a ring
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. scale — in music
  14. band — a music group
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — the season
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. saw — the tool
  20. tube — a container
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bat — the animal
  24. spring — a coil

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