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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 124 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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. ball — a dance
  5. land — to come down
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — certain
  8. ground — a position
  9. rock — music
  10. bound — obliged
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. ball — a great time
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. rock — a stone
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bass — low music
  19. land — ground
  20. land — a country
  21. tear — from crying
  22. ground — crushed
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. ball — a round shape

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