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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. spell — magic
  4. wax — to grow
  5. cell — in biology
  6. spell — letters
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — happy
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. cell — a phone
  12. spell — a short time
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. pound — a weight
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. bass — low music

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