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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 116 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: tube · rest · bass · cap · net · bat · rock · pound

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cap — of ice
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cap — a hat
  7. net — in sport
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — after costs
  11. bat — the animal
  12. tube — a container
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pound — a weight
  17. rest — a break
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bass — low music
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rock — a stone
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. rock — to move gently

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