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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: bass · charge · chest · spring · pass · track · tube · tear

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  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. spring — of water
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bass — the fish
  5. track — to keep track
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. chest — of your body
  8. track — a song
  9. pass — a permit
  10. tear — from crying
  11. charge — electricity
  12. bass — low music
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. charge — in control
  15. chest — of your body
  16. tear — to rip
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. charge — a price
  19. tear — from crying
  20. chest — a box
  21. track — a path
  22. tube — the underground
  23. spring — the season
  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