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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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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: bass · ball · chest · bat · tube · bear · swing · pound

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. bass — low music
  3. ball — a dance
  4. chest — a box
  5. tube — the underground
  6. swing — to play on
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bear — the animal
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. chest — of your body
  13. swing — music
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bass — the fish
  20. pound — a weight
  21. swing — in golf
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. pound — to hit hard

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