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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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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: lean · net · race · patient · mark · bass · tube · last

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  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. tube — in a tire
  2. mark — a grade
  3. lean — thin
  4. bass — low music
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. mark — a trace
  7. net — after costs
  8. last — to go on
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. race — the arms race
  13. last — final
  14. lean — to bend
  15. net — for catching
  16. race — a contest
  17. tube — the underground
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. race — humankind
  20. net — in sport
  21. last — finally
  22. bass — the fish
  23. patient — a sick person
  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