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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · fan · tube · date · game · cell · object · mate

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. tube — a container
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. game — a match
  8. object — an aim
  9. date — the fruit
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. game — wild animals
  12. mate — a friend
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. mate — to breed
  15. cell — a phone
  16. tube — the underground
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bass — low music
  19. cell — in biology
  20. object — a thing
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. object — to protest

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