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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 120 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mark — a grade
  5. pit — a hole
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. wax — to grow
  8. bass — the fish
  9. pit — in a race
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. mark — a trace
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — a practice

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