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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.

Make a worksheet

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: hand · tube · pitcher · bass · wind · rest · mine · cue

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cue — for pool
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. cue — a hint
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. rest — what's left
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the fish
  19. cue — a signal
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. hand — help
  22. wind — moving air
  23. tube — a container
  24. rest — a break

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