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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. rest — what's left
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. hand — help
  12. last — final
  13. net — after costs
  14. pop — soda
  15. fork — in a road
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. pop — music
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. last — to go on
  21. pop — to visit
  22. rest — a break
  23. rest — what's left
  24. fork — a garden tool

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