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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. snap — to click
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. deal — to handle
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. game — wild animals
  8. last — final
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. plane — a tool
  11. wax — to grow
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — finally
  18. bass — low music
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. mine — for digging
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. game — a match

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