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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bass — low music
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. key — in music
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bat — the animal
  12. tear — to rip
  13. key — the most important part
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. cold — not warm
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. key — for a lock
  21. bulb — for light
  22. wax — to grow
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. arm — a part of something

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