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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 120 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 · branch · rock · bass · ground · kick · rash · mate

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. mate — a friend
  3. rash — a series
  4. branch — a division
  5. tube — a container
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. bass — low music
  8. rash — hasty
  9. kick — in football
  10. mate — a partner
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. rock — music
  14. ground — crushed
  15. rock — a stone
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. mate — to breed
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. bass — the fish
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. ground — a position
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. ground — the earth
  24. branch — of a tree

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