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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. mug — a face
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the fish
  5. race — the arms race
  6. mug — a cup
  7. race — humankind
  8. charge — a price
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. mug — to rob
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. swing — in golf
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. race — a contest
  15. band — a ring
  16. wax — to grow
  17. swing — to play on
  18. charge — electricity
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. band — a music group
  21. swing — music
  22. fine — high quality
  23. charge — in control
  24. band — a rubber band

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