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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: kid · lash · wound · fine · bass · straw · tube · pitch

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. tube — the underground
  4. kid — child
  5. bass — low music
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. wound — an injury
  8. fine — high quality
  9. kid — to tease
  10. wound — an injury
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. fine — all right
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. pitch — completely
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. bass — the fish

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