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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bass — the fish
  3. wax — to grow
  4. bass — low music
  5. field — for sport
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. mine — for digging
  8. fine — high quality
  9. field — a subject
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. fine — all right
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. field — farmland
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — to recline
  18. lie — an untruth

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