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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — a position
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. bass — the fish
  6. mug — to rob
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. mug — a cup
  9. wax — to grow
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bear — the animal
  12. mug — a face
  13. present — the time now
  14. bass — low music
  15. present — there
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bear — the animal
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. ground — the earth
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. present — a gift

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