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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: rush · chest · snap · cell · bass · tube · prune · date

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cell — a phone
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. chest — of your body
  11. date — the fruit
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. chest — a box
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cell — in biology
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to click
  20. rush — hurry
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bass — low music
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. tube — a container

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