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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. land — ground
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. net — in sport
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. net — for catching
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bass — the fish
  13. land — a country
  14. land — to come down
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. net — after costs

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