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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: pit · cold · club · wind · game · bass · tube · lie

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bass — low music
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — wild animals
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. lie — to recline
  10. tube — the underground
  11. wind — moving air
  12. club — a group
  13. club — for dancing
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. cold — an illness
  16. tube — a container
  17. pit — in a race
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. game — a match
  20. bass — the fish
  21. wind — moving air
  22. club — for golf
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pit — a hole

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