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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. tube — a container
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. club — for golf
  5. dip — to sink
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — to grow
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. chair — a leader
  15. club — for dancing
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. stock — shares
  19. club — a group
  20. stock — goods
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. tube — the underground
  24. bass — the fish

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